Young entrepreneurs across Sudan are starting over after more than three years of war destroyed their livelihoods and businesses, restoring not only profits but also jobs for the communities around them. In the capital Khartoum, 27-year-old clothing trader Mohamed Saeed is to re-establishing the clothes store he built over 11 years in the trade. He had taken the risk of expanding from Port Sudan and Atbara to Khartoum before the war, only to lose it all when the fighting reached the capital.
Rebuilding amid constantly shifting circumstances has been hard, he said, but his efforts have created opportunities for local people.
"Starting again was very difficult after losing everything in Khartoum due to the war, but we believed there was still an opportunity to serve our community and home city," said Saeed.
In the nearby city of Omdurman, Taha Younis is taking a similar path with his newly reopened restaurant. Four months in, he said the going is still tough, but the team is determined to press ahead and create work for young people. "Me and my partners decided to relaunch this business four months ago after building our restaurant brand before the war. It's extremely difficult to keep up with the challenges, but we are trying to grow step by step and provide work for young people," said Younis.
From restaurants to repair workshops and technology firms, these local efforts are helping to revive the country's economy. While Sudan still faces enormous uncertainty, its citizens are steadily rebuilding neighborhoods ravaged by conflict. Economic analyst Mohamed Alnayer said small and medium-sized enterprises are central to keeping local economic activity alive.
"Small and medium-scale enterprises can support local economic activity by providing goods and services, creating employment, and giving people a way to earn an income," he said.
Young Sudanese entrepreneurs rebuild businesses lost to years of war
Hundreds of robots will be tested for real-world roles at an upcoming expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, as the industry shifts from eye-catching demos to practical applications
The organizer, China Media Group, will host this Zhejiang leg of the 1st Intelligent Robot Application Skills Exhibition on Sunday, with more than 60 companies showcasing over 300 robots spanning special operations, smart commerce and public services.
Rather than showing off dazzling moves, the machines will recreate real work scenarios and demonstrate what they can do on the job. Ahead of the opening, robot squads are drilling hard at the rehearsal site.
Among them is a team that simulates an air-ground collaborative patrol. A drone drops supplies at a target location before a robot dog takes over. That dog is no rookie. It has already been deployed in chemical plants and industrial parks across the country, handling inspection and security duties, and is equipped with infrared cameras and gas sensors that let it sense its environment on its own.
Next comes a more unusual four-legged machine with a robotic arm. As the rehearsal shows, it can grab obstacles in its path. Though small, it handles objects weighing around two kilograms with ease, a capability that could prove valuable in hazardous settings such as nuclear power plants and chemical facilities.
Another machine on display is a spray painting robot. Its arm extends up to 3.2 meters, and it can build parametric maps on site and automatically plan its own painting routes for walls and ceilings. It is built for large, high-altitude spraying jobs, taking on the complex and grueling work that would otherwise fall to people.
China Media Group launched its first Intelligent Robot Application Skills Exhibition in Beijing in July, aiming to help smart robots find practical use across more fields and inject fresh momentum into economic and social development.
Robots to take on real-world jobs at application skills expo in Hangzhou
