Brief
Displaced Sudanese women launch entrepreneurship initiative amid war
Yousra Hussein rebuilds her Golden Women initiative after fleeing Nyala, Sennar and Kassala, highlighting the lack of support for Sudanese women entrepreneurs.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Yousra Hussein, a medical laboratory graduate from Nyala, Sudan, fled her hometown in June 2023 after the civil war erupted, first to Sennar and later to Kassala, according to Al Jazeera.
In Sennar she began offering nail services from home, charging roughly $10‑$15, to support her family. When fighting spread to Sennar in mid‑2024, she moved again and resurrected her Golden Women initiative, which previously provided psychosocial support and marketing workshops to more than 70 women in Nyala.
Hussein says women entrepreneurs face limited training, scarce institutional aid, strict bank guarantee requirements, complex registration procedures and high taxes. Funding remains a major obstacle for her programme.
A 2024 joint United Nations Development Fund and International Food Policy Research Institute report found that 31% of 3,000 surveyed urban households were displaced, and the share with no employment or income rose from 1.6% before the war to about 18%.
Key facts
- Yousra Hussein fled Nyala in June 2023, later moving to Sennar and Kassala due to the Sudanese civil war. (aljazeera.com)
- She started a home‑based nail service charging $10‑$15 to support her family. (aljazeera.com)
- Her Golden Women initiative previously trained over 70 women in Nyala. (aljazeera.com)
- Women entrepreneurs in Sudan face limited training, bank guarantee demands, complex registration and high taxes. (aljazeera.com)
- A 2024 UN‑IFPRI report said 31% of urban households surveyed were displaced and unemployment rose to about 18%. (aljazeera.com)
Sources
- [1] aljazeera.com — originally reported as “Displaced by war, young Sudanese turn to entrepeneurship to survive”
