Establishing modern printing services in Juba After the establishment of the Central Peace Agreement in 2005, South Sudan is developing. The presence of international aid organisations and an emerging southern Sudanese middle class result in a growing demand for services in southern Sudan. The demand for printing services is also growing.However, currently there are no large scale multicolour printing services available in southern Sudan. Public and private organisations which are located in southern Sudan and need printing services, now have to use the services of printing companies in East Africa or the Middle East. Expensive logistics add significantly to the printing costs. In addition, supervision of the print work by southern Sudanese clients is minimal, since printing activities take place abroad.The applicant Mac-Nels Gulf FZCO (Macnels), which is located in Dubai, and the local partner, Afristar International Limited (Afristar), propose to set up a joint venture.The core business of the joint venture will be printing services. The project partners will construct a warehouse in Juba and will acquire a 4-colour offset printing press, mainly for the production of books, leaflets and posters. The joint venture will employ 52 staff members, which can be translated into 32.5 full-time jobs. The project will substantially contribute to the development of the service sector of southern Sudan. The project is innovative, since currently no other southern Sudanese company is able to print the proposed printing materials. Therefore, the project will bring new knowledge into the country.Furthermore, the project will reduce printing costs, since printing activities can be executed locally. The project can facilitate the spreading of information as promotion materials can be printed cheaper and faster by the joint venture.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The partners will incorporate a social CSR policy, which will include the provision of free lunches, payment of social contribution for the personnel, stimulation of staff to send their children to school and a health care allowance for employees and their family.Standard Operation Procedures will be developed and introduced to ensure health and safety for all employees.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe project will provide employment to 52 persons, which can be translated into 32.5 full-time jobs.Out of the 52 persons, 30 persons will work at basic-level and 22 will work at medium- or high-level. The basic-level jobs concern the finishing and binding jobs, printer trainees and casual labourers. High- and medium-level jobs are the manager, supervisors, printer operators and Desk Top Publishing experts.Two years after the end of the project the joint venture will employ in total 68 people, which can be divided into 44 basic-level jobs and 24 medium- and high-level jobs. According to the project partners, the minimum wage in Sudan is about 38 euro per month. The partners will pay at least 200% above this minimum wage and substantially above the average for the sector and the region.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe transfer of knowledge to operate the 4-colour offset printer is completely new for southern Sudan. The training leads to an enhanced knowledge level and to the acquisition of new skills. For example, the staff will be trained in Desk Top Publishing, a computer programme which is being used for offset printing.•	Chain effectsFor most consumables it will not be possible for the partners to apply a local sourcing policy, because the required products are not available on the southern Sudanese market. The project partners plan to hire 2 packaging companies for the supply of simple packaging materials and 2 local logistic companies.•	EnvironmentThe partners are committed to conducting their business operations in a manner that protects both the environment and the health and safety of employees, customers and the public. The project partners aim to use materials that either are recyclable or biodegradable. The project partners plan to recycle all the waste paper for packing purposes. This however will not be possible in Juba, but the joint venture will look at recycling possibilities in neighbouring countries.For chemicals, waste chemicals will not be disposed of but used for their alcohol content for maintenance and cleaning of machinery.The project partners aim to use recycled paper and encourage their clients to accept products printed on recycled paper wherever possible. The project partners will avoid the use of plastic packaging and shrink wrapping of finished products to minimise additional waste. Standard Operating Procedures in the Quality Assurance Manual will guide staff with regard to health aspects such as working with chemicals, safety aspects such as working safely with the press without risk of injuries and environmental aspects of waste processing, recycling, energy and water use and paper and ink use.•	Position of womenThe joint venture will favour the recruitment of female employees. To set up modern printing services with a production capacity of 792,000 books, 594,000 posters and 1,584,000 leaflets at the end of the project.