About the Project
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is designing a program in
Sudan, funded by KFW Development Bank, working with SMEs to provide
appropriate financing through a context-specific Challenge Fund model
for catalytic investments grants. TEKNO Consultancy and Clean Energy 4
Africa have been appointed by the AECF to conduct a comprehensive
market assessment and a broad stakeholders consultation workshop.
About the Workshop
The workshop held on the 7th and 8th August 2022 held at AlSalam Hotel,
brought together stakeholders from the government, private sector,
banks, micro-finance institutions, SMEs, startups, incubators, business
advisory firms, intl. organizations, foreign embassies, and the AECF and
KFW Bank as well. The workshop program included panel discussions,
presentations, and focus group sessions following the theme of “Status
and Challenges of SMEs in Sudan” for the 1st day and “Funding
Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs” on the 2nd day.
Preliminary Findings from the Workshop
Through the discussion panels and focus group sessions, the different
stakeholders highlighted and verified the various challenges and
barriers that face SMEs in Sudan and brought forward possible
solutions. The discussions revolved around the definition of SMEs,
access to finance barriers, lack of supporting laws and regulations,
capacity gaps and success stories.