By Sabri Dibaco
The East Africa Business Council (EABC) has called on South Sudanese entrepreneurs to take greater advantage of investment and cross-border business opportunities available within the East African region.
In an interview with the No. 1 Citizen Newspaper, William Deng Garam, South Sudan National Liaison Officer for EABC, said the council is working to connect business owners across East Africa and help reduce unnecessary obstacles to regional trade.
Garam said EABC has been engaging business leaders through CEO roundtables and other workshops aimed at creating networks among entrepreneurs and encouraging them to do business with one another.
“The main objective of [the] East Africa Business Council is to make sure business owners of East Africa are connected borderless,” Garam said.
He said South Sudanese businesses can move their products to other East African markets, including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda, while complying with existing laws and border regulations.
Garam also encouraged entrepreneurs facing difficulties while conducting legitimate business across borders to contact EABC representatives for assistance.
The EABC representative said the organization’s activities are not limited to CEOs and large companies.
He cited a recent two-day women’s empowerment workshop conducted in partnership with the African Development Bank, which focused on helping women understand business opportunities and their rights under regional and international trade agreements.
“We need to educate our people. We need to tell our people, you have a right here; you have a business opportunity here,” he said.
Garam said greater awareness is necessary because some small-scale business owners may not know that existing agreements between South Sudan and other countries provide opportunities for them to expand their businesses.
The EABC official also addressed concerns among potential investors who may be discouraged by reports about insecurity and instability in South Sudan.
He said some regional businesspeople who have recently visited Juba were surprised by the business activities they encountered compared with their expectations before travelling to the country.
Garam cited a participant in a recent logistics forum in Juba who, according to him, expressed surprise after visiting South Sudan for the first time.
He also referred to an Eritrean businessman in the pharmaceutical sector who started a business in South Sudan and later expanded into other East African countries.
Garam said such experiences demonstrate the importance of allowing potential investors to obtain information directly and use the appropriate channels when seeking to establish businesses.
Garam urged South Sudanese to take greater responsibility for developing their own businesses and participating in the country’s economy.
“Business is the backbone of the country,” he said.
He encouraged local entrepreneurs to seek information about available opportunities and build connections with businesses in neighbouring countries rather than leaving regional markets to others.
Meanwhile, Mandela Nelson Denis, Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Business Circle Limited, said business events provide an opportunity to showcase investment opportunities in South Sudan and challenge perceptions that the country has little or no business activity.
Denis said negative perceptions about South Sudan, particularly those associated with conflict, can discourage regional investors from considering the country as a business destination.
“The event opens up the investment opportunities that are available, and it also helps to change the narrative of what people think, because people definitely think that there’s no business happening,” Denis said.
According to Denis, discussions with visiting businesspeople helped some of them recognise that economic activities continue in Juba despite the challenges facing the country.
“Some of them came to realise that back in Juba it’s not about war; it’s not about what the media portrays. There is business going on. There are young people who are doing business, and they’re moving forward,” Denis said.
He said exposing regional investors to local businesses could help create partnerships and demonstrate opportunities that may not be fully visible from outside the country.
Denis previously cited the experience of an unnamed participant from Nairobi who attended a logistics forum in Juba and later described the situation he encountered as different from what he had expected based on reports he had received before travelling.
The East Africa Business Council is a regional private-sector organisation that promotes trade, investment, and cooperation among businesses in East Africa.
Its activities include business networking, policy advocacy, and initiatives aimed at facilitating cross-border trade.