In a bid to market Sierra Leone to potential foreign investors, the Chief Minister of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mr. Jacob Jusu Saffa, on Tuesday 31st May, 2022 successfully presided over a Business Forum that constituted a number of eager foreign investors ready to tap into Sierra Leone’s huge resources for wholesome investment.
The Chief Minister in the midst of Kenyan Government officials, private investors and other international organizations, presented key issues touching on the very question of: Why invest in Sierra Leone?
In his presentations, the Chief Minister, highlighted a range of reasons for investment opportunities from the country being a peaceful and democratic nation with ideal atmosphere for international investment, to having an investor-minded government, to the strategic access to market via three hours flight to Nigeria, six hours to the United Kingdom and eleven hours to China respectively.
The Chief Minister also touched on Sierra Leone having a huge tourism potential with rich heritage and culture; abundant arable land and a favorable climate for farming; an eager youthful population ready to work and fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for thorough investments.
In a similar vein, the Minister of Trade, Dr. Edward Hinga Sandy, also highlighted all sectors for investment ranging from manufacturing, agribusiness, technology and the mining sectors. All these presentations were well received by those in the audience.
The Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu B. Pratt, in her presentation, visibly brought out key steps that President Bio had taken to ensure that Sierra Leone becomes an ideal place for investment. Key among them were these: repatriation of capital and profits guaranteed; constitutional protection against expropriation; investment guarantee against non-commercial risks; one-stop shop facilitation; periodic presidential round tables with private sectors; digitization of government services; facilitative industrial zone program; political and macroeconomic stability; high labor productivity: large pool of youthful, trainable and literate workforce; etc.
The Tourism Minister concluded that Sierra Leone stands tall not only within the sub-region of West Africa and the whole of Africa but also globally, as the best place for investments across all sectors.