There are many reasons investors should consider Sierra Leone as their destination for investment.

• Strategic access to markets, boasting a natural deep water harbour.
• By plane: 3h from Lagos, 4h from Brazil, 6h from Europe, 8h from North America, 11h from China.
• Social and Political stability. An investor-minded government. Heavy investment in infrastructure to facilitate trade.
• Duty free access to global markets (EU, USA, ECOWAS, Mano River Union)
• First Mover advantage: Total arable Land of 5.4 million hectares
• Attractive fiscal and non-fiscal investment incentives.
• 4.7% Projected real GDP growth rate – 2020
• Population young and eager to work

Opportunities

Agriculture – Sierra Leone’s economy is strongly reliant on the agricultural sector as it contributed 47.9 percent to GDP in 2014. It is also one of the largest sources of job creation employing 68.5 percent in 2014. With an estimated 5.4million hectares of arable land, abundant farmland, varied ecosystem, fertile soil, and sufficient rainfall is a mainstay to agricultural success over the years. The government is investing heavily in the sector by improving transport infrastructure to ease the movement of goods, encouraging and supporting private sector investment, as well as lending support to farmers. With declining international commodity prices, especially in iron ore which was one of the country’s main export, agriculture is one of the diversified sectors the government is focusing its growth potential.

The sector is dominated by smallholder farmers, in subsistence farming, using traditional methods and limited use of farming inputs. There are fairly large agricultural estates, both government and privately owned. The current performance of agriculture represents a fraction of the underlying potential of the country.

Energy – The energy sector in Sierra Leone is the pivot in the country’s development agenda and an important catalyst for achieving sound economic growth as well as widening the investment landscape in the country by attracting investors in the manufacturing and other sectors to propel the economy. Strengthening the energy sector in the country would make the economy more productive, create more jobs, and improve industrialization and also improve the quality of life of Sierra Leoneans.The country is, however, blessed with plentiful rainfall and sufficient topographic relief that creates substantial potential for hydro-power generation throughout the country. The country also has abundant sunlight, which is seasonal complementary to hydro power sources, thereby creating strong opportunities in solar power generation.The country’s energy demands are massively underserved with conservative estimates of currently unmet demand continually increasing. As the country develops and becomes increasingly industrialised, especially with the development of large-scale mining projects and integration of Sierra Leone into the West Africa Power Pool, demand for energy in Sierra Leone continues to increase at a dramatic rate.

Infrastructure  – The transport and communications segments are the mainstay of the country’s infrastructure sector. It comprises roads, harbours, airports and ICT sub-sectors. The sector suffered huge damages and deterioration after the civil conflict and due to lack of funding to carry out significant investments in repairs, maintenance and new developments. The past decade has seen dramatic changes in the telecommunications segment; while in the past 5 years major steps have been taken towards implementing a comprehensive plan that is underpinned by private sector inclusion in infrastructure investment and operations.

Oil and Gas – Sierra Leone has historically gone through 3 phases of oil exploration; the first two stages involved drilling by Mobil in 1982 and by Amoco in 1985, to depths of approximately 3000 meters These exploratory wells, located close to the border with Liberia, are on the continental shelf, considerably shoreward of the deepwater basin complex. Oil shows were encountered in both exploration drillings, but these wells were plugged and abandoned.Oil and gas exploration activities started again in 2003 in Sierra Leone, when TGS NOPEC was engaged by the Government of Sierra Leone to carry out. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company acquired approximately 5,800 sq km of 2-D seismic data in 2000 and 2001 and 3,200 sq.km of 3D data in subsequent years. The data set consists of a total of 170 lines extending from the continental shelf to water depths of 2500 m to 4000 m, recording high quality, 10-second migrated seismic data. The southwest-northeast dip lines have an average spacing of 7 km and lengths of 50 km to 140 km. Five composite, northwest-southeast strike lines are each approximately 850 km long. Approximately 5,800 line-km of the seismic data were acquired in the offshore area of Sierra Leone.

Manufacturing – The manufacturing sector in Sierra Leone is a developing one with great potential. Currently it is concentrated in the following areas: Rubber/Plastic with companies like Milla Group,Shankerdas and sons as key players. Chemical, confectionary and most recently agro based product such as juices. Manufacturing at the moment plays an important role in adding value to the above stated areas , with high demand for locally produced goods, regional and International markets are accessible for product manufactured in Sierra Leone owing to its membership to the following key International and regional organisations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS – Market size of 220 Million People), EU-Everything But Arms – EBA (Market Size of 456 million People), U.S African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOGA – Market Size of 310 Million People) and the Mano River Union (MRU).

Mineral resources – Mining is one of the leading export sectors in the country. In recent years, the economy received a further boost when two substantial iron ore mines started production and export which caused real GDP growth to jump from an annual average of 5.7 percent during 2010-2011 to 15.2 percent and 20.1 percent in 2012 and 2013[1] respectively. During these periods, the sector created significant number of jobs.  However, the Ebola epidemic, along with rapidly falling iron ore prices, stunted the country’s economic progress. There are known commercial quantities of iron ore and diamonds, also substantial deposits of gold, titanium and bauxite, as well as indications of manganese, uranium, and lead.To ensure optimal contribution to national development, the Government is committed to promoting transparency and accountability in the mineral sector. In 2014, Sierra Leone became a country compliant with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process.The mineral sector consists of three categories of mine operations: (a) large-scale; (b) mechanized small-scale mines, mostly diamonds and gold; and (c) artisanal, with large numbers of individual miners. Large-scale mining operations in Sierra Leone are all foreign-owned.

Marine Fisheries – Sierra Leone has a 570-kilometer long coastline with a sizeable continental shelf (covering an area of over 25,000 square kilometres and a width of up to 140 kilometres in the north) that is fed by substantial rivers and rainfall, providing the basic elements for extremely productive marine fisheries. As a result, the country has considerable resources of: (I) shrimp, (ii) cephalopods (cuttlefish and octopus), (iii) lobster, (iv) demersal fish species (croakers, snappers, catfish, groupers), (v) small pelagic species (herring-like species, bonga); and (vi) large pelagic (tuna, barracudas) – all of which have well-established global markets with high prices.

Based on these resources, the fisheries sector provides direct employment to an estimated 100,000 persons and indirect employment to some 500,000 persons (almost 10 percent of the population). More specifically, in coastal areas an estimated 25 percent of the male population of working age are reported to be involved in fishing at least part-time. The sector contributes almost 10 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP].

Tourism – Tucked away on the Atlantic ocean, Sierra Leone is a splendid combination of 570 km of beautiful white sand beaches, vibrant tropical forests teaming with exotic wildlife and breathtaking mountains that serve as the backdrop to what is an extremely unique tourist experience in West Africa. Sierra Leone is   only 6 hours away from Europe, 8 hours from the US and 3 hours from West Africa’s largest city, Lagos. There are endless possibilities in the tourism sector given the diverse ecology of Sierra Leone, proximity to international hubs and an untapped natural beauty that can rival any location in the world.

Sierra Leone Investment and Export Agency

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