The Great Ideas Space for South Sudan 2023: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Training for Food Security programme aimed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and network needed to turn their ideas for a social or for-profit enterprise into a business model that combats food insecurity, creates jobs, and contributes to building resilience and sustainable food systems in South Sudan. It ran in three phases, from August 2023 to March 2024, and was offered free for participants with the financial support of the Government and the People of Japan. 

The programme started with online training for 326 learners from South Sudan focusing on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and agribusiness. Hanna found that the intense training surpassed her expectations, but the flexibility of the self-paced online training made it doable, despite her already full schedule.

The programme met and surpassed my expectations because the training was intense. Although they were self-paced, I felt like it was just something doable, and it also aligned with my calendar.” - Hanna Yohanis (South Sudan) UNITAR alum and NGO Entrepreneur

Her hard work paid off when she was chosen as one of the top 19 participants from the online phase who were invited to Japan for in-person training. Immersing herself in the culture and history of Hiroshima and Tokyo, Hanna discovered points of connection between Japan’s post-war development and the possibility for growth in Sudan, giving her hope for South Sudan’s future.

The case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resonated with me. And I feel like if Japan was able to overcome this, although we feel like we are lost right now in our country, if other countries have made it, this is something that we can also work out as well.” —Hanna Yohanis (South Sudan), UNITAR alum and NGO entrepreneur