Free «Sudan Business Environment» Essay

Business performance in all countries relies heavily on the environment that it operates in. The environment can be economic environment, social environment, global environment, technological environment and competitive environment. How well the business does comes as a result of the interaction of these various environments because some are dependants of others. For instance most of the mentioned factors depend on the social environment which is heavily dependant on the political environment. The discussion below is about business environment in Sudan and its effects (Elearn and Pergamon Pp. 87).

The economic environment of business in Sudan has been progressing over the last couple of years. The country has enjoyed the economic growth of 8.1 % over a time with a corresponding increase in GDP as well. However the country’s economy has been hit by the world wide financial recession which has not only affected the African nationalities but also America and Europe. The recession affected the output of oil in particular, which is the mainstay of the economy in Sudan sinceaccounts for about 10% of the whole economy.

The Sudanese economic environment has not been promising for business especially because of the high susceptibility and volatile nature of the economy to inflations. This can be as a result of the government policies that involve high taxation of the business increasing the cost of doing business in Sudan. The enactment of currency laws which carries with them tariffs and barriers may affect the economic growth of Sudan and lead to collapse of many small and medium sized business. The Sudanese government however, has worked hard to ensure business growth by establishment of free trade zones to allow free movement of capital as well as tax exemptions and legal benefits (Ngor-Chol, Pp.9-27).

The social environment of business in Sudan has been very controversial over the recent years. This is mainly affected by the political condition which has prevailed in the country. The social unrest that has hit Sudan over the years has caused a social disintegration dividing Sudan into two parts which are the northern Sudan and the southern Sudan. The division which has been as a result of the language custom between the Arabs who profess the Muslim religion and other languages professing other religious believes especially Christianity has also acted as business barrier. The Christian business people in the southern region of the country cannot freely interact with their counterparts in the northern region. These social characteristics have made business difficult by the limitation to small area and restriction of expansion due to fear and discrimination.

The global environment of business in Sudan has made the international communities to avoid business in the country. The foreign investors have termed it a great risk due to the political unrest of the country. The latest warrant of arrest that has been issued by the International Criminal Court to have President Omar al-Barshir has shaken the confidence of the foreign investors scaring them away due to fear of violence in the country. The trade policies however have remained welcoming due to the free trade zones regardless of the war and terrorism that have been witnessed. The Sudanese government has remained pro-business by encouraging foreign investment and liberal investment as well as forex regimes. The latter is intended at increasing the country’s international competition which will attract many foreigners to invest in the economy. The Sudanese economy is one that has been attracting many foreign investors especially due to its oil production capacity which has seen the country maintain economic growth substantially.

The technological environment in Sudan has been very expansive and widely used even for business locally and internationally. The information technology has taken great part with Zain mobile service provider being the leading in the country. This has facilitated communication through the phone making business contacts in and out of the country possible and with less movement and cost. Consequently, the availability of the internet services has made e-commerce possible thereby international trading becoming easier. The technological environment has elevated businesses where many have also invested in technology related businesses like international dealers and brokers. It has also seen business expand and operate worldwide wit little or no limitation especially with creation of virtual offices and enterprises.

On the customer and employee services the country has improved on its competitive environment by providing the best to their stakeholders. The country has provided some policies which are meant to protect the interest of the employees working in the county as well as the customers or clients doing business with Sudan. To make the country of Sudan competitive the government has tried to make the operations easier and ensure that all the environments in the country are conducive for business operations. This involves ensuring foreign customers satisfaction as well as protecting the interest of all stake holders of the economy.