Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT)

What Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT) does

Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT) is a volunteer-led Sudanese non-profit professional organization registered with the Humanitarian Aid Commission under Registration No. 8811, founded in April 2019 in Khartoum. It operates as a think tank and implementation partner focused on urban development, infrastructure, transportation, and climate resilience, delivering technical advisory, capacity building, and policy support to Sudan's federal ministries and humanitarian actors. The organization originated as the Sudan Urban Development Initiative (SUDI) when a group of Sudanese architects and engineers — led by Arch. Hashim Suliman Ibnauf — convened to support the interim transitional government, and was formally restructured into SUDTT in December 2019 with a five-person Board of Directors and a 23-person Executive Office.

SUDTT's portfolio spans flagship programs including the Road Map Programme (strategic advisory to government), DARAJA Sudan Emergency Forecasting and Early Warning Service (co-led with Resurgence, partnering with SMA, ICPAC, and IFRC), HEART (heritage preservation and flood resilience on Tuti Island with ICCROM and Swedish Postcode Foundation), IDeAMapSudan (geospatial database for informal settlements with mobile data collection), the Institutional Transformation Programme (for the Federal Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport), TVET capacity building for the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, and the LABINA project for IDP community resilience in South Darfur. Underlying technology components include the IDeAMapSudan geospatial platform, the Al-Taya indigenous flood monitoring knowledge base, and AI-augmented early warning features developed with partners (recognized as a finalist in the AI for Early Warnings for All Innovation Challenge at the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit).

The revenue model is grant-funded: project grants from international donors (Nuffic Orange Knowledge Program, ICCROM, Swedish Postcode Foundation, UNDP Tadamon Accelerator, Islamic Development Bank/ISFD) supplemented by association membership subscriptions and technical advisory engagements with government ministries. The organization employs 13 core staff and draws on a network of 100+ Sudanese volunteer professionals across architecture, civil, mechanical, electrical, and management disciplines, with many members holding senior positions internationally (e.g., Qatar Rail, SOM, SHoP Construction).

Name

Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT)

Legal name

Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank

Website

https://sudtt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT) is a Khartoum-based volunteer-led non-profit think tank delivering urban development, infrastructure, and climate-resilience advisory services to Sudanese federal ministries, international donors, and displaced populations through grant-funded programs including DARAJA early warning, HEART heritage resilience, and IDeAMapSudan geospatial mapping.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Urban Development Advisory Services

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian Coordination, Information Management & Needs Assessment (BPADADAL), Disaster Relief & Humanitarian Aid Volunteering (EDAIAGAF)

Keywords

• Urban development advisory
• Infrastructure planning
• Government capacity building
• Climate resilience services
• Disaster risk reduction

Headquarters

HQ city

Khartoum

HQ country

Sudan

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Contributions: Volunteer-led organization with membership fees as specified in organizational bylaws. Association and student membership categories with subscription fees determined by Executive Office and approved by Board of Directors.
2. Project Grants and Funding: SUDTT operates on project-based funding from international donors and development organizations including Nuffic (Orange Knowledge Program), ICCROM, Swedish Postcode Foundation, UNDP Tadamon Accelerator, Islamic Development Bank, and Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development.
3. Technical Advisory Services: Provides technical support, consulting, and advisory services to government ministries including Institutional Transformation Programme and capacity building initiatives. Revenue generated through contracted technical assistance engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SUDTT is a volunteer-led Sudanese non-profit think-tank that delivers technical advisory, capacity building, and project implementation services to Sudan's transitional government and humanitarian partners. Its core work spans the Road Map Programme, the DARAJA weather and early warning service, the HEART heritage-based flood resilience project on Tuti Island, the IDeAMapSudan geospatial database for informal settlements, and capacity-building programs covering institutional transformation, TVET for displaced populations, and occupational safety.

Product overview

SUDTT is a volunteer-led Sudanese professional organization (registered non-profit no. 8811) focused on urban development, infrastructure, and transportation. Rather than a unified software platform, SUDTT operates as a portfolio of specialized programs and projects that work together to advance Sudan's urban development sector. The core offerings include the Road Map Programme (the flagship initiative providing strategic advisory support to government), the DARAJA Emergency Forecasting and Early Warning Service (weather/climate information for humanitarian actors), HEART (heritage preservation and flood resilience for Tuti Island), IDeAMapSudan (geo-spatial mapping system for informal settlements), Institutional Transformation Programme (government capacity building), and various capacity building initiatives for TVET, displaced populations, and occupational safety. SUDTT also delivers knowledge products through webinars, workshops, and conferences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Road Map Programme: A programme under SUDTT's leadership that developed comprehensive roadmap for Sudan Urban Development and provides advisory support to the interim government
• HEART
• DARAJA Sudan
• LABINA
• IDeAMapSudan

Products and services

• Road Map Programme
• DARAJA Sudan Emergency Forecasting and Early Warning Service

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• ResurgencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022DARAJA project partner specializing in design and delivery of actionable weather and climate information for vulnerable communities. Co-leading DARAJA Sudan Emergency Forecasting and Early Warning Service with SUDTT. Previously piloted DARAJA in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam under WISER 2 funding.
• ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Implementing the Net Zero: Heritage for Climate Action initiative through ICCROM's FAR programme. ICCROM supports documentation of traditional knowledge and indigenous flood mitigation practices for climate action integration.
• University of Khartoum (Faculty of Architecture)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Local partner in HEART and DARAJA projects, collaborating on documentation of traditional knowledge and community engagement activities in Tuti Island.
• Studio UrbancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner in Sudan collaborating with SUDTT on DARAJA project, providing local expertise and community connections for Tuti Island initiatives.
• Sudan Meteorological Authority (SMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational meteorological service provider working with DARAJA project to create and produce location-based forecasts. Staff operating from Nairobi, Cairo, and Sudan to maintain climate services during conflict.
• IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWMO accredited Regional Climate Centre for East Africa. Partnering with displaced SMA staff to create and produce forecasts tailored to community needs.
• Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation of the University of Twente (ITC)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTraining provider for IDeAMapSudan project, delivering spatial data analysis training and technical education on geospatial database systems.
• African Population & Health Research Centre (APHRC)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTraining provider for IDeAMapSudan project, contributing to capacity building for gender responsive and sustainable urban development.
• Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTraining provider for IDeAMapSudan project, supporting spatial data training and urban development education.
• Maastricht School of Management (MSM)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner in TVET capacity building project for MoLSD, providing training on strategic planning, partnership, project design, monitoring, risk management, and communication.
• FFC (Forces of Freedom and Change)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of UD and Infra Priority Action Planning Workshop in September 2019, working with SUDTT to develop prioritized action plan for transitional government.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDARAJA partner providing humanitarian expertise and coordination with Red Cross/Red Crescent Sudan response in weather information service development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Global nonprofit focused on housing and community development, including programmes for displaced populations and IDPs. Broad incumbent peer in housing and community-led reconstruction, overlapping with SUDTT's LABINA and displacement-durable-solutions programmes.
• ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability: Global network of more than 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. A broad incumbent peer operating across the same urban-climate and city-resilience themes that SUDTT addresses at the city-government level.
• UN-Habitat: The UN agency for sustainable urban development with a mandate closely aligned to SUDTT's Road Map Programme, urban planning, and informal settlement work. UN-Habitat operates at global scale across all developing countries, whereas SUDTT is Sudan-focused, making it a broad incumbent peer.
• World Resources Institute (WRI): A global research organization working on climate, cities, and sustainable development, including African urban programmes. WRI is a broad incumbent peer in urban climate resilience and data-driven policy work that overlaps with DARAJA and IDeAMapSudan.
• C40 Cities: Network of global megacities addressing climate change through urban action, including African member cities. C40 is a broad incumbent peer sharing SUDTT's focus on urban climate resilience, though operating at a fundamentally larger city-government scale.

Direct peers

• Resurgence: Co-developer of the DARAJA Sudan Emergency Forecasting service with SUDTT; both share the same humanitarian weather/climate information service model and target vulnerable communities. Resurgence is a direct peer in the climate-information-for-humanitarian-actors category.
• African Centre for Cities: ACC is a think-tank at the University of Cape Town focused on urban research and policy engagement in African cities, mirroring SUDTT's research-to-policy model and African urban development focus. Direct peer in the African urban-development think-tank space.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): A research and policy think tank working on sustainable development, climate adaptation, and urban resilience, frequently partnering with southern civil society organizations. IIED is a direct peer in the development-think-tank category with comparable grant-funded programme model.
• Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI): Global network of community-led organizations focused on informal settlement mapping, upgrading and durable solutions — directly overlapping with SUDTT's IDeAMapSudan and displacement-durable-solutions work.

Emerging players

• Sudan Red Crescent Society: National humanitarian actor and DARAJA distribution partner, delivering early-warning messages to Sudanese communities. A regional peer in the humanitarian/early-warning information chain that intersects with SUDTT's climate-information work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sudan-sudtt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sudan Urban Development Think-Tank (SUDTT)