Setting up skin collection and tannery in South Sudan The applicant in this project proposal is the Ethiopian registered company Modjo Tannery SC. The local partner is Yabsera Company Ltd. The company is involved in the collection and disposal of solid and liquid waste (sewage water) from companies and government offices.Ethiopia has a vibrant leather industry. As a consequence the competition is fierce and it becomes more and more difficult to collect enough skins for competitive prices. South Sudan has the second biggest livestock population of Africa (after Ethiopia), but the potential of the sector is underutilised. The majority of the skins are thrown away. The project partners see a good opportunity to set up a tannery in South Sudan to produce the wet blue semi-finished product, from sheep and goat skins.The project partners will establish a joint venture. The tannery will be established at the outskirts of Juba.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)A water treatment plant will be installed according to European standards. Due to the fact that a tannery has a potential risk for environmental pollution and health and safety issues for its employees.1) An extensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be conducted by an internationally well-recognised agency with relevant expertise. This EIA should elaborate on the labour conditions, risk of environmental pollution and the construction of an applicable waste water treatment system including a cost calculation of the system.2) If the results of the EIA are unsatisfying and/or the cost of an effective effluent system goes way beyond the reserved budget.3) As there are no laws regarding waste water disposal in South Sudan, nor relevant laboratories to check the water quality, there will be periodic waste water quality controls. The joint venture will sign a long-term agreement with an international recognised laboratory for the quality control of the waste water streams.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe minimum wages for unskilled labour in South Sudan are not determined, but lower and unskilled staff usually earn around SSD 500 (65 euro). The joint venture will offer at least living wages of 115 euro per month.Other benefits for employees include:- medical care;- protective clothing and work under healthy conditions;- one full meal per day and access to clean drinking water;- free transport will be provided from and to a central pick-up point;- a nurse and medical staff will be hired full-time to provide preventative and curative health care to employees and their family members;- staff will benefit from extensive in-company training programmes.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThere are no tanneries in South Sudan. As mentioned earlier the majority of the skins are just thrown away.•	Chain effectsImpact on local suppliersThe raw material (fresh goat and sheep skins) will be purchased from local butchers, farmers and households. With a maximum capacity of 2,000 skins per day, the project will require 600,000 hides per year.The project will set up a system of skin collectors. These collectors work closely with selected contract butchers who, in turn, will be trained to perform the best possible job in the slaughter process to assure the quality of the skins.Impact on local customers or consumersThere will be very little impact on local customers, as the wet blue skins are meant for exports.•	Impact on the sectorThe project will set up the first skin processing plant, producing wet blue skins. This will account for new local business initiatives for farmers, butchers and service providers. It is expected that around 20% of the skins offered to the project will be rejected, because these do not meet the required quality standards. To reduce the rejection percentage, the project will organise substantial training to collectors and butchers in order to gradually improve the efficiency and safeguard the market value of the skins.•	EnvironmentIn the tanning industry, many different chemicals are used and both solid, liquid and gaseous waste will be produced by the project.The project will implement all necessary measures to mitigate negative effects for the environment, workers health and energy efficiency. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be conducted. A modern effluent treatment plant will be installed according to European standards.•	Position of womenSpecial facilities will be available for female workers and staff for personal hygiene and child care. The majority of the workers will be female. The set-up of a tannery for the production of a semi-finished product called wet blue for the export market. The tannery will have a maximum capacity of 2,000 goat and sheep skins per day.