Before Inviting Investors… Have We Prepared the Opportunities?

Adel Al-Rifai Abul Hassan
In a move that deserves attention, Ms Ahlam Madani Mahdi, Secretary-General of the National Investment Authority, has called on several Sudanese ambassadors preparing to take up their posts to step up investment promotion through Sudanese embassies. She emphasised that attracting investment is a shared national responsibility and a key driver of reconstruction and economic recovery, according to a report published by Al-Muhaqqiq News Agency (Al-Muhaqqiq) on Thursday, 22 October 2026.
This initiative offers an opportunity to harness Sudan’s diplomatic relations to serve the national economy and open wider channels of communication with investors worldwide. However, turning such engagement into actual projects requires external promotion that aligns with investment opportunities ready to be pursued, supported by accurate information, adequate data, and clear legal frameworks that enable investors to assess opportunities and make informed decisions.
My previous experience working with investors interested in the agricultural sector illustrates the importance of such preparedness. The investors requested a booklet identifying the land available for cultivation, its locations and geographical coordinates, soil analyses, groundwater data covering depth and available quantities, and information about the geological strata. They also requested climate data for the preceding three years, while some asked for five years of data. In addition, they wanted maps showing which crops were best suited to each area and which were likely to deliver the highest yields.
This experience demonstrates that investors need comprehensive investment information, presented in an accessible format and supported by reliable data and maps. Such material enables them to understand an opportunity, estimate its requirements and make decisions on a sound basis.
This highlights the importance of preparing a comprehensive investment guide, supported by specialised booklets covering agriculture, livestock, industry, mining and real estate. These should also include public–private partnership projects and opportunities suitable for the Build–Operate–Transfer (BOT) model, or the Build–Own–Operate–Transfer (BOOT) model.
Each guide should set out the location and potential of the projects, their requirements, infrastructure and financing needs, available technical and economic data, applicable legal frameworks and implementation procedures. The information must also be updated regularly so the guides serve as practical tools for promoting and assessing investment opportunities, not merely introductory publications.
However, preparing guides and promoting opportunities alone will not create an investment-ready environment. Clear procedures, effective coordination and sustained support for investors are also essential—from the moment they express interest in a project until they complete the necessary implementation requirements and begin operations.
This is where activating and improving the one-stop-shop investment service becomes critical. An effective one-stop shop would strengthen coordination among relevant authorities, clarify procedural pathways and institutional responsibilities, reduce overlapping jurisdictions and duplicated requirements, and help track applications and resolve obstacles within the framework of investment laws and regulations.
This issue matters especially for projects involving multiple tiers of government and administration. Some agricultural projects, for example, require coordination between federal, state and local authorities, as well as consultation with local communities and people whose rights and interests may be affected.
Clear responsibilities, consistent procedures, transparent fees and levies, and the resolution of land ownership and land-use rights before offering opportunities to investors are therefore essential to protecting all parties’ rights and strengthening investor confidence. Above all, approvals must be legally sound, enforceable and sustained across all relevant levels of government.
Achieving this requires institutional coordination between the National Investment Authority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the relevant ministries and agencies. The preparation of investment opportunities must be integrated with their promotion and with ongoing engagement with investors.
Embassies and representatives of Sudanese institutions abroad can present investment proposals, refer enquiries to the competent authorities and follow up on potential partnerships until they progress from initial interest to implementation, in accordance with each institution’s mandate.
It would also be beneficial to incorporate investment promotion and capital attraction into government policies and the relevant institutions’ implementation plans, with clearly defined responsibilities and mechanisms for monitoring results.
The experience of countries that have achieved economic progress offers important lessons in linking investment promotion to the preparation of viable opportunities, infrastructure development, support for production, access to information and streamlined procedures. With its considerable resources and promising potential, Sudan can draw on these experiences to develop an investment strategy that serves its development priorities.
The success of investment promotion should be measured not by the number of meetings held or the opportunities presented, but by how many of those opportunities become productive projects that create jobs and generate added value for the national economy.
When investment-ready opportunities are combined with clear laws, effective institutions and efficient economic diplomacy, investment can become a driving force for reconstruction, diversification of production, infrastructure development and the expansion of sustainable development. In this way, Sudan’s potential can move beyond promise and become a reality of achievement and prosperity.

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