Enterprise bridges needs: how youth innovation is supporting livestock owners in Kassala

Kassala, SUDAN (ILO News) – Kassala State, SUDAN (ILO News) - In Wad Al-Hilew locality, Kassala State, a group of young entrepreneurs identified a challenge affecting livestock owners in the Dabousin area: access to essential veterinary medicines was limited, forcing farmers to travel for hours to purchase basic animal health supplies.

Determined to find a solution, the team (two women and two men) established Al-Amal Veterinary Pharmacy, a youth-led enterprise that brings veterinary medicines closer to livestock farmers and herders.

The initiative emerged through the i-UPSHIFT programme, an entrepreneurship and skills development programme adapted from UNICEF's UPSHIFT methodology and enhanced by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with entrepreneurship trainings.

Through the programme, young women and men from refugee and host communities are trained in social innovation, entrepreneurship and employability skills, along with mentorship and seed funding to transform community challenges into viable business solutions.

“We identified a real problem facing livestock owners in the Dabousin area of Wad Al-Hilew, so we decided to change that,” says Omar Sabah, 30, a member of the Al-Amal team.

The young entrepreneurs began by launching a mobile veterinary pharmacy that travelled directly to livestock owners. After assessing local needs, they sourced medicines from Kassala and sold them through a mobile cart, making essential products available within the community.

The model quickly demonstrated its potential.

“Our first model was profitable, with a return of about 30 per cent on our initial capital,” Omar explains. “That showed us we were ready to grow.”

For farmers, the impact was immediate. Medicines that previously required a four- to five-hour journey became available locally at the same price.

With this innovative idea, Al-Amal became one of the 38 winning youth‑led teams, receiving US$ 1,200 in grants, a US$ 700 zero-interest loan through Sanad Microfinance Institute and access to additional investment upon successful engagement with the programme's Investment Committee.

Today, the team is working towards opening a permanent veterinary pharmacy that can provide livestock owners with a wider range of medicines and supplies in one location.

Beyond funding, the team credits the i-UPSHIFT programme for helping them build the confidence, skills and teamwork needed to turn an idea into reality.

“We were strangers when we walked into that room, and we left as a team,” Omar recalls. “The training gave us so much, and the support continued even after the workshops. They stayed in touch with us and supported us every step of the way.”

Implemented under the PROSPECTS Partnership and funded by the Government of the Netherlands, the i-UPSHIFT programme in Sudan has reached 500 young women and men from Shagarab Refugee Camp and surrounding host communities in Kassala and Wad Al-Hilew. Through bootcamps, mentorship and incubation, participants have developed innovative business and social enterprise solutions that contribute to livelihoods, resilience and social cohesion.