DAL Group

About the Founder

Daoud Abdellatif was born in 1908 in Halfa Daghim, a village near Wadi Halfa, northern Sudan. His early life and career unfolded under Anglo-Egyptian rule, which shaped his political and business perspective. He began his schooling at a traditional Quranic school  in the village of  Badghim, then attended the primary school in Wadi Haifa^[6] and later Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum.^[7] Prominent in the college student movement, he was selected as secretary of the alum association after his involvement in a 1932 strike held by students protesting the Umma Party’s opposition to Egyptian-Sudanese unity and calling for Egyptian sovereignty over Sudan.^[8]

In 1942, Daoud Abdellatif was appointed as a mamur, a senior administrative officer responsible for overseeing local government operations, managing civil servants at the district level under Anglo-Egyptian rule. He later served as rapporteur for the Round Table Conferences addressing the Southern Sudan issue, held between 1948 and 1966.^[9]

Daoud Abdellatif married Fathiya Muhammad Al-Omda, nicknamed the “Queen of Nubia,” with whom he had six children.^[10] Daoud sent his sons to universities in the UK (a tradition continued by his children).^[11] He served as head of the resettlement committee until December 1960, after resisting the government’s decision to relocate Nubians—a move that sparked protests in Wadi Halfa and then Khartoum, leading to arrests. Before his dismissal, he had proposed an alternative resettlement site in Wadi Al-Khoui and brought in an American expert to facilitate the plan, but the government rejected his initiative and forced him into early retirement as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.^[12]

Founding Story

The origins of DAL Group began in 1951 during Anglo-Egyptian Rule. Two British businessmen founded Sayer & Colley, a company specializing in the trade of engineering products, including bearings and belts. The company later secured the American brand Caterpillar dealership for Sudan. In 1952, Daoud Abdellatif established the Sudanese Tractor Company in partnership with Mohammed Saleh Al-Shanqeeti,^[13] a Sudanese-born Mauritanian politician and judge.^[14] Born in 1898 in Omdurman, Mohammed studied at Gordon Memorial College—Daoud Abdellatif’s alma mater—became a prominent judge, and was deeply involved in politics, co-founding the Umma Party, which Daoud later joined.^[15]

Following Sudan’s independence from Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1956, a wave of economic nationalism and the push for local ownership began reshaping the country’s commercial landscape, expanding opportunities for Sudanese entrepreneurs to acquire foreign-owned assets.^[16] In 1966, SUTRAC (Sudanese Tractor Company Limited) was established to transfer the Caterpillar dealership from Sayer & Colley to Sudanese ownership.^[17] Daoud Abdullatif was the owner, and Mohammed Al-Shanqeeti served as SUTRAC’s first chairman.^[18]

Between 1970 and 1971, both SUTRAC and Sayer & Colley were nationalized, a move that was reversed within a year, with the government retaining a minority share after buying out the British partners. During this period, SUTRAC secured the John Deere dealership, establishing a foothold in Sudan’s agricultural sector. In 1975, Osama Daoud Abdellatif, Daoud’s eldest son, joined SUTRAC,^[19] subsequently became its sales manager. The companies also returned to the Abdullatif family’s private ownership as the government shares were bought out.^[20] In the 1980s, the company changed its name to Daoud Abdellatif Group (or DAL Group) as it expanded and diversified.^[21]

Growth Phase

Sudan’s worsening economic conditions in the 1980s, caused by prolonged drought, famine, and the onset of the Second Civil War in 1983, created a challenging business environment marked by currency instability and cash shortages. The conflict disrupted agriculture and trade, and war spending strained public finances and increased inflation. Like many other businesses, DAL Group responded to the circumstances by accepting payments in commodities rather than cash. This response to adversity soon led to the creation of national food brands that eventually attracted partnerships with leading international companies.^[22]

In 1984, DAL Agriculture was established, built on SUTRAC’s ties in the agricultural sector. In 1988, the expanding group launched DAL Property Development to provide architectural design, construction, and facilities maintenance services. In 1994, DAL Motors was founded and later awarded the exclusive Mitsubishi dealership for Sudan. In 1996, Sayga Flour Mills was established. A few years later, Blue Nile Dairy (now DAL Dairy) was launched. DAL Medical was also established with a single product, eventually growing into a distributor of hundreds of products from top multinational pharmaceutical brands. Sudanese Liquid Air (SLA)— founded in 1949 as a branch of France’s Air Liquide and nationalized in 1964—joined the group.^[23]

Soon after the turn of the millennium, DAL Group secured the exclusive Coca-Cola bottling and distribution contract in Sudan and established DAL Food Industries.^[24] In 2003, all operations were unified under the name DAL Group.^[25] Despite tense relations and comprehensive US sanctions on Sudan since the 1990s, DAL Group has operated as a politically unaffiliated family business, enabling Western companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi to enter the Sudanese market by serving as trusted local intermediaries without direct ties to the government. Despite being known as Sudan’s “Coca-Cola company,” DAL has nonetheless been subjected to US sanctions.^[26]

In 2008, SUTRAC South was launched to serve South Sudan, and DAL Engineering added brands like Sonalika, Pottinger, Jacto, and Tatu, and Sayga became the distributor for Kraft and Unilever. A year later, DAL Motors gained the KIA franchise, launched the Fenti golf course development in Soba, and DAL Agriculture began exporting alfalfa to the Gulf region.^[27]

In 2013, the four DAL Group companies operating in agriculture, dairy, flour, grains, and soft drinks merged to form DAL Food.^[28] In 2017, DAL launched the Dubai-based Invictus Trading Company to expand its import-export business, particularly in food commodities and industrial inputs.^[29]

In the wake of Sudan’s 2019 revolution, which led to the ousting of longtime president Omar al-Bashir, DAL Group faced mounting economic uncertainty.^[30] The COVID-19 pandemic further strained production and supply chains, deepening existing vulnerabilities in the country’s private sector.^[31] Since April 2023, the outbreak of full-scale war has devastated Sudan’s economy, displacing millions and threatening the survival of major companies such as DAL Group.^[32] According to the Arab Development Future Foundation, DAL Group employed over 8,000 people at its peak, a figure that has since declined to 5,500 as operations have been disrupted.^[33]

In 2025, the recently founded Invictus Investment Company began expanding into Kenya and Ethiopia, strengthening the group’s presence across the MENA region. The same year, DAL further expanded by acquiring Mozambique’s largest flour miller, Merec Industries.^[34]

Today

Today, DAL Group still operates as a family business, run by the second generation with growing involvement from the third generation. The founder’s four sons hold key management positions: Osama serves as chairman, and Motasim is managing director. Ihab oversees DAL Food as its managing director, and Amir leads Invictus Investment under the same title, while the founder’s daughter, Eiman, runs DAL Medical.^[35] Amir Osama Daoud Abdellatif, a member of the third generation, is the sugar trade department manager.^[36]

The group employs over 5,500 people across 16 companies, in industries spanning food and beverage, automotive, healthcare, agriculture, industrial gases, construction, mining, energy, and education. Among its key subsidiaries are DAL Food, SUTRAC, DAL Motors, DAL Medical, DAL Agriculture, Sudanese Liquid Air, DAL Mining, DAL Energy, and Khartoum International Community School.^[37] DAL Group and its businesses have offices in Khartoum, Sudan; Dubai, UAE; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Beijing, China; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[38]