World Youth Skill Day: Catherin's Entrepreneurial Journey in South Sudan

The South Sudan Jobs Creation and Trade Development project, funded by the EUTF and implemented by the International Trade Centre, aims to enhance the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and increasing employment opportunities for the South Sudanese, especially for youth and women within the fruits and vegetable chains.

The project tackles key challenges in the fruits and vegetables subsector by improving production, processing and handling practices; helping MSMEs meet market requirements and standards; enhancing human skills; and strengthening producer cooperatives. It also addresses youth and women’s employment issues by developing entrepreneurship and business management skills and facilitating access to finance for youth-led businesses.

Catherin Lato, a member of the Young Women Christian Association, became an entrepreneur after participating in seven economic empowerement training sessions funded by the project. She then started her own business focused on preserving vegetables and fruits.

“After receiving training, I started a business on how to preserve vegetables and fruits for a long time, considering that in South Sudan only a small percentage has access to electricity, thus we need to use natural methods to preserve them” explains Catherin.

She continued: “Preserving fruits and vegetables and being able to sell them out there has really helped a lot, I am a young woman, I am still in school, and so this business has helped me to push through because most of my family members had to move during the 2016 war”.

Catherin encourages young women and girls to strive for financial independence, emphasizing its importance in overcoming personal and socio-economic challenges.

Click here to hear her testimony: https://youtu.be/y9DAywT9aCI

More on the project 

The “Jobs Creation and Trade Development” project, funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa, has been implemented in South Sudan by the International Trade Centre since September 2020, with a budget of 4,8 million EUR. The project provides an integrated and holistic assistance for the development of small businesses in the fruits and vegetables value chain, ultimately improving the livelihoods of targeted South Sudanese populations through the creation of jobs and income.

Key Results include: 

• 1,962 fruit and vegetable producers trained, coached, and advised on good agricultural production practices. 
• 586 fruit and vegetable producers trained, coached, and advised on improving post-harvest practices. 68% of the participants in the programme being young producers.
• 950 members of producer cooperatives trained on cooperative governance, group dynamics & leadership.
• 61 fruit and vegetable MSMEs obtained loans totalling SSP 14,880,000 (equivalent of USD 13,934) as a result of the support provided: 60.7% of the loans were assigned to women-led businesses.
• 1,534 sessions of coaching, mentorship & business advisory services were delivered to young producers and traders of fruits & vegetables. 64.7% of the sessions were delivered to young women producers and traders.
• 1,205 young people engaged in fruit & vegetable production and trading trained in business management & entrepreneurship.