Sierra Leone News

The Business Bomba Finale took place at last! at Family Kingdom on Friday 15th Jan(it was postponed from the 18th December) and His Excellency The President, Earnest Bai Koroma graced the occasion with his presence in order to encourage entrepreneurship in Sierra Leone.

Other government officials present included the Prime Minister, Alhaji Sam Sumana and the minister of Trade, Mr David Carew. Also present were representitives of donors to the project: Mr Dominic O’Neil, Head of DFID Sierra Leone and Ms Jocelyn Songco representing the Soros Economic Development Fund.

The 20 finalists were palpably excited and I bet anxious too. Each went home with Le20million(approx $5,000)  plus Le5 million business vouchers.

You’ve got to remember, when Business Bomba was initially launched June 2009, there were 600 interested parties,300 applications out of which 60 were selected.(I blogged about it here) The 60 were whittled down to the final 20 who went through a gruelling time and even faced the Lion’s Den style questioning!

Finally, when the moment of truth came, 4 runners, the winner and their prizes were revealed as follows:

(Apologies for any misspelt/incomplete names here)

*** Format is Position-Name-BusinessIdea-Prize In Leones***

Winner AKA Business Bomba – Eva Roberts -  Maringa Leaf Powder Production-75 million

1st Runner up – Eamon Hanson – Organic Dried Pineapples and Juice -70 million

2nd Runner up- Melvin Kanu – Poultry Products – 65 million

3rd Runner up - Mustapha Klah- Bee Farm For Honey Production – Le60 million

4th Runner up - Alhaji Ba – Cattle Rearing, butchery and diary- Le 55million

Winner – Rhoda Akinola – Cassava Processing into VA Products – Le 20million

Winner – Joseph Bangura – Rice farming and production  – Le 20million

Winner – Abdula Bassie – Large Scale Bio Diesel For Agriculture Fuel  – Le 20million

Winner -Abdulai Bun Wai – Maize  Meal Food And Animal Feed – Le 20million

Winner -  Cyrillia Davies- Nanny Agency – Le 20million

Winner – Gladys England  -Fresh Fruit Juice Production And Retail  – Le 20million

Winner -  Francis M Juana- Commercial Feedmill For Livestock – Le 20million

Winner -  Alhaji Kamara-  Production of Toilets- Le 20million

Winner -Ernest T Kargbo  – Soghum For Sale To Breweries – Le 20million

Winner – Edmond Koroma  – Retail And Wholesale Of Fresh Water Fish  – Le 20million

Winner – Prince Macfoy  – Poultry And pigs For Meat, Bacon And Eggs  – Le 20million

Winner -Ibrahim Moseray  – Fairtrade Cocoa Production And Export – Le 20million

Winner -  Alex Strasser-Nicol- Solar Power Retail And Rental  – Le 20million

Winner -  Abdul Tarawally-  Internet Cafe – Le 20million

Winner -Edna Wai  – Eco Tourism – Le 20million

Since I talk about business a lot, you might be wondering why I didn’t apply? Well, the reason is, all relatives of organisers were barred and my hubby was involved so there…

I look forward to more of such competitions…here are some pictures. Will load more if internet access permits.

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Those Who Read This Article Also Read:

1. Business Bomba Competition 2011 – The Grand Finale
2. Business Bomba 2 Underway & See The Successes Of The Previous Winners
3. Business Bomba Launch – Business Plan Competition In Sierra Leone
4. More Good News – Fibre Optics Landing In Freetown Today!
5. TANCon Business Conference This Weekend at the Taia Resort.

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