Sierra Leone News

Have a merry one and remember, JESUS CHRIST is the reason for the season! Right now Freetown is buzzing, there’s constant music even throughout the day and even the night! Day time is awash with weddings almost in every nook and cranny. I do love this season a lot!. The air is crisp with the harmattan dust…there’s dust everywhere! Evenings are cold and in the daytime, we find our skin dry as parched ground unless of course we have applied a healthy dose of vaseline and cocoa butter. Dry season is in full swing and so is Christmas and the accompanying celebrations.

I intend to enjoy these next few days…a LOT. So should you!

Enjoy!

That was the theme for this year’s trade and investment forum which happened  on the 16th and 17th of November.

I was very excited to blog about this and quite frankly, I wish I had done so just when it happened because since then there’s been an Aljezeera corruption scandal about Sierra Leone investors being allegedly duped in high places and really it’s dampened my spirits a bit. I mean its bad PR for Sierra Leone.

Anyway, I will leave that behind and share the positives as well as the opportunities available. Oh and there are plenty for the savvy investor…. Here are some bullet points which stuck in my mind: Click Here To Finish Reading… »

I promised I’ll making these updates. Well currently, “Salone swit” We are enjoying light on most days (90% of the time). Compared to when we came in 2008, well things have superbly improved in this area. So to those that are coming this December you are in for a real treat.

Yesterday we drove down Wilkinson Road to go to church and I must say, I was very happy to see that it’s almost complete! I can wait for it to be 100% complete. That will be so good! Work, as you may know already, has already began on Spur Road. They also started digging Regent Road which they seem to have abandoned.

My desperate wish is for Regent Road and Lumley roundabout to be completed. Have a great week y’all!

When I got on the plane recently to come to Freetown, I was surprised (or not really) about the number of foreign (by the way, I’m not foreign ) people coming to Freetown too! Wow so what were all these people coming to do seeing (as some people think) Mama Salone is down and out?

My dear  friends (Sierra Leone diaspora in particular),  you will be surprised to know that Africa including Sierra Leone, is the new frontier, the new gold rush, the place where you invest $1 you make $10 or more, (of course subject to applying some wisdom and money and hard work) these people know it and they are coming for their share. How about you?

Don’t let those miserable pictures they show on CNN kid you. While you are “sleeping” abroad people are “chopping” in Sierra Leone.

I mean the weather is fantastic, the beaches are from heaven – really some of them are so remote and unspoilt, you simply gasp when you arrive there. Ahh how I wish Salone will be marketed more! (may be I should be given the job hah hah ) I mean I see some of these drab countries (no names mentioned) making a meal of so little on CNN.Then I think imagine Sierra Leone being put on CNN?

Any back from my reverie, Hilton in Sierra Leone ….Yes the once dilapidated Cape Sierra is being redeveloped into Hilton and all being well, it should be ready by 2013. The president  “turned the soil” or opened the project about 2 or 3 weeks ago (that shows how busy I am not blogging about it then).

In addition, Click Here To Finish Reading… »

Wahoo! I’m so excited about this particular event! It’s been long in coming and boy! we’ve been thirsting for it! Anything for increased internet speed is welcome in all quarters! The formal commissioning of the fibre optic landing commissioning was held today at the submarine ACE landing station in Lumley. This will put in place the necessary structures for the landing of the submarine fibre

Those present included the information Minister, Alhaji IB Kargbo, World Bank representatives, members of the ICT Council and others from various Commissions and Agencies

Advantages

I feel very happy and excited about this mainly because we have languished in slow or non-existent internet territory for far too long. Some of the advantages this will bring include:

• High internet speed
• Moderniztion of telecoms sector Click Here To Finish Reading… »

Progress is happening all over although I must say the rains have slowed things down, even the completion of Wilkinson Road has been halted.

With the advent of September, hopefully the rain will dissipate and I hope to bring you more good news   of the development happening all over.

For this story, the water works plant is 85% completed and trenches have been dug in which the pipes carrying the water will be laid. There are also efforts to improve on the road networks in the area. And it doesn’t end there…. the Port Loko Council has awarded 40 scholarships to students attending colleges and polytechnics

Today, I feel excited simply because it’s a new month and I’m looking forward to good things happening…. ciao

Got a business in Sierra Leone? If so you may have encountered this problem at one time or the other. I went to a women empowerment meeting sometime ago – organised by Afford SL, UNICEF and the Cheri Blair Foundation – and the aim of the meeting was to discover the main obstacles facing business women in Sierra Leone.

For me, to realize that I wasn’t alone in some of the problems I was facing was enlightening as well as encouraging in many ways.

Some of the problems discussed included lack of government help, high rental rates, lack of good roads, lack of affordable capital and a few more. I’m sure each business type may face its own specific problems.

For instance, there are entrepreneurs who have serious and in-demand products which are doing well locally. Now some of these products, will do even better when exported. However, to export, all products must meet international standards.

Now these standards have to be implemented in individual countries and the framework for implementing can be quite slow here in Sierra Leone. Thus, you may have good exportable product but until it’s gone through & passed rigorous international standards, you’re stuck with marketing it only in Sierra Leone.

The #1 Problem

Click Here To Finish Reading… »

This happened sometime in May but it is still good news to share even now… - good things are happening in Sierra Leone… the early bird catches the worm…. simple but true.  Read on…

Here’s The Article:

The first juice manufacturing company in Sierra Leone was Thursday commissioned at the Newton community by President Ernest Bai Koroma, as part of his government’s commitment in promoting trade and maintaining economic stability in the country.

The US-based First Step, Africa Felix Juice is a combination of companies with the aim of promoting private sector investment in the area of agriculture and capacity building for local farmers in their respective communities.

Click Here To Finish Reading… »