SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURS IN SIERRA LEONE

Inclusive growth and opportunities: How we can support entrepreneurs in small(er) countries to contribute to economic development.?

GrowthAfrica seeks, through its work, to contribute to #inclusivegrowth. It does this through convening and networking entrepreneur support organisations outside capital cities and supporting entrepreneurs beyond the bigger, usual countries. Working with CAFOD in Sierra Leone on the UNDP-funded Growth Accelerator Sierra Leone just kicked off. ?

Sierra Leone programme: ?

The UNDP Growth Accelerator in Sierra Leone is a #businesssupport programme aiming to accelerate the economic and social growth of 59 innovative, viable and ambitious MSMEs, specifically focusing on women and youth-led enterprises. The programme is funded by UNDP, with Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) as the lead partner. AIDE Sierra Leone is the local implementation partner, and GrowthAfrica provides international technical implementation support.?

UNDP collaboration expanded:?

The programme in Sierra Leone builds on the experience and collaboration with 联合国开发计划署 Malawi in designing an acceleration programme currently in its 3rd cohort. Following Malawi's impactful results, a programme was launched in Liberia last year. This programme is now in its 2nd round. In Liberia, GrowthAfrica supports the local organisations, iCampus Liberia , Accountability Lab Liberia, Agro Tech Liberia, Business Start-up Center Monrovia and East Africa Market Development Associates Ltd. in the implementation. ?

Local ecosystem:?

The Sierra Leone #entrepreneurshipecosystem is relatively nascent, with most entrepreneurs operating within the agribusiness and food processing space, as food security is one key objective of the government. Entrepreneurs in the sector, among other things, work in cassava flour processing, cashew processing, and egg production. Most of the programme ventures are looking to substitute the huge quantities of imported goods and improve the quality of food people consume. ?

Kicking-off in Freetown:

The programme kicked off in September with a bootcamp comprising a cohort of 21 formal SMEs from different sectors, including agri processing, media and events, video and photography, clean energy, cosmetics, and legal services. The cohort has an impressive 47% female entrepreneurs and participants from across the 5 provinces in Sierra Leone. ?

As the support implementation partner, GrowthAfrica facilitated the lively 3-day bootcamp held at the Atlantic Lumley in Freetown. The focus was on leadership in business and understanding the customer market and products; areas which create a stable foundation for entrepreneurial ventures to scale and run sustainably. ?

Following this bootcamp, the cohort members will participate in subsequent business workshops and pitch training as they prepare to pitch to a panel of expert judges later in October. From here, up to 10 entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to receive support of up to USD 40,000 each to scale their #businesses. ?

In October, the programme will welcome a further 38 informal MSMEs. They will also get access to bootcamp, workshops, pitch training and #pitchchallenge with grants offered to successful entrepreneurs within the cohort. ?

GrowthAfrica outlook:

With over 20 years of supporting African entrepreneurs and 10 years of experience accelerating businesses in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Malawi, and Ethiopia, supporting entrepreneurs in small(er) ecosystems such as Sierra Leone is an opportunity for GrowthAfrica to continue improving the African entrepreneurs' ecosystem one country at a time. ?

Entrepreneurs in Malawi, Liberia, Sierra Leone and other small(er) countries are eagerly looking for ways to grow resources for their businesses. Beyond the leading and larger African entrepreneurship nations are many more countries with entrepreneurs working hard to develop their businesses and societies through jobs and opportunities for youth, women, and local communities. ?

GrowthAfrica has the entrepreneur support experience, content and methodology and a proven track record of working with entrepreneurs and entrepreneur support organisations in both larger and small(er) countries. ?

We are stocked and looking forward to creating an impact in Sierra Leone and beyond. Entrepreneurs across the continent eagerly seek opportunities and support to create growth and opportunities. ?