The Face of Truth | Ibrahim Shglawi Jiad… Creating Opportunities The launc

The launch of the first Sudanese-made electric car by Jiad Engineering Industries represents an important economic event, opening a window for the country’s transition from a war economy to an economy focused on rebuilding productive capacities, turning crisis into opportunities, and employing its human and natural resources along new development pathways.

Today’s purpose is not to celebrate a commercial company simply because it has launched a new product. “The Face of Truth” does not look at companies from the perspective of their private profits and losses, but from the perspective of the value they can add to the economy and society. What makes the “Jiad” experience worthy of attention is its alignment, at this particular moment, with a question that has remained present in this column: How do we move from an economy that consumes what it imports to an economy that produces what it needs? Therefore, the criterion for assessing the experience is neither the company’s name nor the allure of the car, but rather the extent to which it can contribute to local manufacturing, technology transfer, capacity building, linking scientific research to production, and creating sustainable Sudanese added value.

Therefore, the “Jiad” experience gains its significance because it comes at a moment when the country is searching for a practical meaning of economic recovery, not merely by reproducing what existed before the war, but by completing the industrialization project that has remained postponed and opening the doors to new industries capable of responding to future needs.

According to the company, its employees, after approximately 45 days of suspended operations at the beginning of the war, managed to restore all operations across 18 sites in the states. This information carries important economic and political significance, given the losses caused by the war and the extent to which institutions have lost their productive capacity.

Hence, restoring industrial activity does not mean simply returning to work, but recovering part of the state’s and society’s capacity to produce and rely on themselves.

From this perspective, the phrase “We will not stop,” uttered by Jiad’s Executive Director, confirms economic resilience. Overcoming the war is achieved by reviving factories, supply chains, and confidence in capabilities.

 Therefore, Jiad’s return becomes a restoration of the idea of production. Even the shift toward electric vehicles, despite its challenges amid foreign currency shortages and deteriorating infrastructure, can represent an economically attentive response to the crisis, because the cost of fuel, imports, and operation makes conventional transportation more expensive and opens the door to innovation and a transition toward a more efficient and sustainable model.

More importantly, “Jiad” is moving toward an integrated electric transportation system, from tuk-tuks, rickshaws, and motorcycles to tractors, supported by a specialized workshop and charging, maintenance, and spare-parts services, in partnership with Chinese company “Wuling.” The value of this shift lies not only in the product itself, but in localizing knowledge. Importing the vehicle makes Sudan a market for it, whereas participating in its production makes it a partner in technology, capable of producing knowledge and accumulating expertise. This is the difference between consuming the future and creating it.

Sudan possesses a comparative advantage in this field that should not be wasted: sunlight, wind, and vast spaces. If it succeeds in linking electric vehicles with solar energy, the matter could go beyond reducing transportation costs to redefining the relationship between energy and transportation. Instead of the fuel crisis remaining tied to securing foreign currency for its importation, a model can gradually be built that benefits from locally available resources. This makes the electric vehicle project a broader policy for energy, transportation, industry, and the environment, as a promising commercial project.

The car is the most dazzling part, but the real challenge begins after the launch: batteries, charging, maintenance, spare parts, skilled personnel, and electricity stability.

 Therefore, the success of the experience should not be measured by the number of cars produced, but by its ability to build an integrated system. Here, the partnership with universities, research centers, and technical education becomes doubly important, particularly with the government’s announcement of a revolution in technical education. Workshops and factories can be transformed into practical laboratories, and students can be connected to industrial challenges, making education a lever for production.

The government should make supporting “Jiad” a practical policy, as it does with school furniture and cables, by giving national products priority in its procurement, expanding the use of its vehicles in state institutions, and encouraging employees to acquire them through financing and affordable installment plans. At the same time, it should open export markets, particularly in neighboring countries, to provide foreign currency and expand production. Supporting “Jiad” is tantamount to supporting national industry, while exports are the gateway to its growth and sustainability.

According to #The_Face_of_Truth, the “Jiad” electric car is not the conclusion of a project, but a test of the beginning of a different one. Its value goes beyond being the first Sudanese-made electric car to opening a pathway that connects industry with energy, transportation, scientific research, and financing. The war has exposed the fragility of an import-dependent economy, but it has also revealed what can be built upon.

 Therefore, recovery should not mean returning to the pre-war status quo, but transitioning toward a more productive and independent economy. The real battle is not to manufacture a car, but to build a capacity that manufactures the future—to turn crisis into an idea, resources into production, and knowledge into value.

Wishing you continued health and well-being.

Monday, 17 August 2026

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