26 April 2026, Khartoum – More than three years into a devastating armed conflict that has shrunk Sudan’s economy by over 40 percent, closed around one in three firms and displaced around 13 million people, a new strategy from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) argues that backing the country’s surviving businesses – its farmers, traders, small manufacturers and diaspora-linked enterprises – is the only way to keep essential services running and ensure any chance of a quick recovery.

The Sudan Private Sector Engagement Strategy 2026 – 2028, released today, is informed by surveys and interviews with more than 70 businesses, banks, business associations and diaspora entrepreneurs conducted in late 2025. It sets out five targeted, conflict-realistic interventions to help stabilize the economy and accelerate recovery.

“Sudan’s farms and businesses have shown remarkable resilience, continuing to operate even as the war disrupts every aspect of daily life. But resilience alone is not enough - they now need deliberate support to keep going,” said Luca Renda, UNDP Resident Representative in Sudan. “This strategy sets out concrete, conflict-adapted interventions to sustain them and enable recovery.”

Despite catastrophic damage – average MSME revenues have fallen by 35.8 percent, and nearly 87.8 percent of displaced firms have closed – Sudan’s private sector has not stopped. Agriculture, livestock and gum arabic continue to underpin millions of livelihoods. Solar-powered irrigation is keeping fields productive, particularly in eastern states. Diaspora remittances sustain households where banks no longer function. And 71 percent of closed businesses say they intend to reopen within a year.

The strategy’s five interventions tackle the constraints firms themselves identified as their biggest hurdles: a community finance mechanism building on Sudan’s traditional sanduk savings groups; solar energy solutions for productive use; short, employer-led skills training through chambers of commerce; a public-private coordination compact; and a blended-finance facility to channel diaspora capital into small enterprise recovery. Each initiative is anchored in local systems and institutions to ensure that recovery programmes outlast external support.

The strategy places particular emphasis on inclusion for women, youth and displaced populations. Dedicated training tracks, gender-responsive metrics and geographic allocation thresholds are built into every initiative.

“In crises, the response often leans heavily on aid, while the role of the private sector in sustaining food systems, jobs and essential services is underestimated,” said Renda. “Yet it is precisely this network of farmers, traders, health workers and small businesses that keeps communities functioning. Without it, the human toll would be far greater. Supporting the private sector must therefore be central to any credible response.”

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Notes to editors

The Sudan Private Sector Engagement Strategy 2026-2028 was developed by UNDP’s International Istanbul Centre for Private Sector in Development with UNDP Sudan, drawing on the 2024 UNDP-IFPRI MSME Survey and 71 key informant interviews. 

For more information contact:

Hajer Suliman, UNDP Sudan, Head of Communications, hajer.suliman@undp.org, mobile and WhatsApp +249 918 008 819

About UNDP Sudan 

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