Story of Resilience Series: Meet Aguto Magor, CEO of Agutex Limited

When young Aguto Magor, the CEO of

Agutex Limited

, returned to South Sudan from Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in 2013, he was determined to give his life a meaningful change. Unlike in Kakuma where he experienced many constraints to work and/or run a profitable business due to the challenges of refugee living, in Juba, Aguto felt liberated to take on new opportunities for self-reliance.

To get started, Aguto embarked on a number of menial construction jobs to meet his immediate upkeep needs while saving little towards starting a small business. After working for three years as a junior construction worker on a meagre salary, he was able to save just enough to buy a printer, with which he provided a for pay printing services to supplement his income.

Although his printing business took off well, it soon faced growing competition as new printing companies began to mushroom around the location of his business. As a result, his business' revenue began to fall, and he struggled to stay afloat in light of rising overhead expenditures. Immediately, Aguto realized a need to change the course. So, he decided to diversify his business by embarking on sourcing, processing, and distributing foods. His flagship line of food was lalob, a locally processed food derived from Heglig tree (thöu). While the focus on local food processing was a noble approach, his business hit a cul de sac due to limited access to global markets to export some of the produce.

Aguto decided to diversify his business further. He noticed an unmet need in the transportation industry. Many young South Sudanese professionals need affordable ways to get around in the capital Juba. Aguto ventured into the auto business, with a specific focus on small fuel-efficient cars as cheap mobility options within the city. This line of business became successful.

Currently, Agutex Limited has diversified into providing car services, selling apparels, shoes, Kitchenwares, etc. The company has created full-time employment for five South Sudanese and continues to engage in corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Despite security challenges in the country, Aguto acknowledges that those living there cannot postpone their need for goods and services. He noted that local production of many essential goods and services is underdeveloped. Currently, almost 90% of essential goods and services consumed in the country are imported from neighbouring countries, such as Uganda and Kenya. These imported goods and services tend to be expensive. Also, as a result of limited border restrictions due to Covid-19, the supply chain is disrupted, and many vulnerable South Sudanese are severely affected.

Aguto’s message to South Sudanese youths in the country is to embrace entrepreneurship as a way to create jobs for themselves and others. He acknowledges many endemic barriers to entrepreneurship in South Sudan, such as lack of Startup capital and business mentors/coaches, financial illiteracy, among others. However, he believes that some of these barriers can be tackled through resource pooling, and entrepreneurial collaboration.