Are you a Sierra Leonean youth-led business looking to grow your business online?

Use this link to apply: https://surveys.intracen.org/response/G2tIYndQQQAFblNxXlN_S0d6cHs

The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) READY Salone project is here to help you start your e-commerce journey!

Funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Communications, Technology and Innovation, the project aims to unlock economic opportunities for young entrepreneurs and youth-led businesses in the digital economy.

Selected businesses will benefit from a 6-month, free e-commerce support programme that includes:

• Tailored training on how to develop your e-commerce strategy and sell products and services online
• Individual coaching from an experienced e-commerce advisor
• Access to digital tools and platforms
• Support to connect with business partners and customers in new markets

This is a unique opportunity to build your digital capacity and position your business to thrive in today’s digital economy.

Eligibility criteria

• Be a youth-led business (i.e. A business owned or managed by individuals aged up to 35 years)
• Be based in the Western district of Sierra Leone
• Strong interest to grow your business through e-commerce

How to apply

• Please complete the application form carefully and respond to all mandatory questions.
• The deadline for submission is 31 July 2025.
• We especially encourage applications from women and persons with disabilities. 
• Use this link to apply: https://surveys.intracen.org/response/G2tIYndQQQAFblNxXlN_S0d6cHs

Shortlisted applicants may be asked to provide supporting documents, and selected candidates will be contacted in September 2025 and introduced to their e-commerce mentors.

Note: For this cohort, only businesses based in the Western District are eligible. Additional districts will be included in 2026.

Please note that ITC is treating any information you provide strictly confidential.

Use this link to apply: https://surveys.intracen.org/response/G2tIYndQQQAFblNxXlN_S0d6cHs

Section 66(1)(2), as enshrined in the Act of 2016, states that the agency shall set up a consultative body known as the Sierra Leone Local Content Consultative Forum, which shall provide a platform for information sharing and collaboration in the sectors covered by the Act with respect to upcoming projects in the sectors, information on available local capabilities, and other policy proposals that may be relevant to Sierra Leonean content development.

The heart of the second quarterly meeting held on Tuesday, 3rd June 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Finance, focused on the presentation of 2025 Priority Areas (work plan) developed by the newly established standing committee to aid the implementation of the 2025 priority areas. Multi-stakeholder groups have been included to broaden the forum’s perspective and reinforce accountability. Key among the other discussions was the setting up of various subcommittees to enhance the planning, which includes the Project Pipeline, Capabilities, Mapping, and Policy Regulations subcommittees. It is expected that the resource mobilization and support will also be set up in due course.

The meeting was chaired by the Director-General of the Local Content Agency, Fodeba Daboh, who underscored the importance of driving local content-related issues in order to collectively enhance economic growth, as it is trending in other countries. He commended the participation and commitment of stakeholders for their relentless effort in pushing the local content initiative forward, hoping that there would be light at the end of the tunnel when all hands continue to be on deck.
The meeting was attended by stakeholders from government, public and private sectors, professional associations, and regulatory agencies.

On April 30th, 2025, winners of the ILO Opportunity Salone Business Competition from the Cassava Flour and Palm Kernel value chains expressed their gratitude to the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLLCA) and the International Labour Organisation for awarding them funding to boost their businesses.

It could be recalled that in 2023, the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLLCA), in partnership with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), held the ILO Opportunity Salone Business Competition across four districts of Bo, Kenema, Bombali, and Port-Loko, with finalists advancing to a national level in Freetown to receive capital support. The project, part of the EU-funded Jobs and Growth Programme, supported small businesses producing beauty products from palm kernel oil and those making bread, pastries, and confectioneries using cassava flour. To assess its impact, SLLCA hosted a press briefing on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at the Miatta Conference, Youyi Building in Freetown where beneficiaries shared success stories highlighting how the initiative transformed their businesses.

Explaining the benefits of the ILO Opportunity Salone project, MUSTAPHA Bayoh, representing Sierra Soap Factory, said that they employed persons with disabilities in Bombali district and trained them on how to use palm kernel to produce soap. He said

He disclosed that ILO has approved the sum of Le 452,000 through the support of SLLCA for them to expand their business, noting that this funding will be used to improve on our packaging, buy new equipment and create more jobs opportunities for the youths in Bombali district.

He said that expanding their business will create employment for local businesses within the supply chain thereby enabling Sierra Leonean businesses to take ownership of the economy.

He disclosed that through Local Content Agency, their product is currently available in the Made in Sierra Leone shelves created in the supermarkets in Freetown. He appealed to the Agency to rollout that initiative so that their soap product will be available across the country.

Salamatu Thullah, CEO of Dim-Din Agro Company in PortLoko, a company that comprises group of women in agriculture, uses cassava flour to produce Bread, Pastry and Confectioneries.

She explained that after winning the business competition organized by SLLCA in partnership with ILO, they were asked to pitch a business, disclosing that ILO has approved a budget of Le 250, 000.

She said that the money will be used to buy equipment and employ more staff.

She said Local Content Agency built their capacity in packaging, marketing and customer relations which has added value to their business.  

Morlu T. Brewah, the Chief of Operations of SLLCA disclosed that this is part of the Agency’s strives to build business linkages and create friendly investment climate, noting that the friendly investment climate is as a reason of the political will created by President Bio. He admonished the local entrepreneurs to make good use of the money, noting that some of the monies will come by installments.

The Director General of Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLLCA), Mr. Fodeba Daboh has on Friday December 9th, 2022, received the ‘Most Influential Local Content Champion in Sierra Leone 2022’ from the Global Impactful Women, at the New City Hall in Freetown.

Director General of SLLCA Receives Most Influential Local Content Champion in Sierra Leone 2022

The Award was received by senior management staff of the Agency on behalf of the Director General who was unavoidably absent.

This is the second prestigious award the Director General has received in less than a month after he had earlier received the 4th Prestigious Awards from The Women’ Forum Sierra Leone for his outstanding achievement in creating the enabling climate for women led businesses across the country.

The Award was received by senior management staff of the Agency on behalf of the Director General who was unavoidably absent.

Sierra Leone High Commissioner in Accra, Ghana, Her Excellency Francess Virginia Anderson on Thursday 1st December visited the ongoing West Africa Agro Food Trade Show, which is being held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

High commissioner Anderson visits Sierra Leone’s booth at the West Africa Agrofood Conference

During her visit to the fair particularly Sierra Leone’s booth, High Commissioner Anderson met with the country’s representatives of institutions such as the Sierra Leone Local Content Agency, Standards Bureau, Agro processing and Competitiveness Project of the World Bank.

She applauded and congratulated all representatives of Sierra Leone and urged them to always do more in ensuring their products meet the required standards as by so doing Sierra Leone’s Flag will fly high.

She encouraged them to be doing all they could in improving what they do and making sure even their packaging meets international expectation.

As a nation she said, Sierra Leone will continue to do that which is needed in showcasing its quality.

Sierra Leone’s Products displayed at the West Africa Agrofood Conference in Ghana

A total number of 18 Agro processing Local Entrepreneurs also formed part of Sierra Leone’s team. They informed the High Commissioner about the purpose of the fair and how it has been.

According to them, the event brought together 98 exhibitors of 21 countries from Africa, Asia and Europe with a goal of displaying value chain of Agroindustry products and facilities.

Representative of the Agro processing and competitiveness project at the Small Medium Enterprises, Haja Meyers briefed the High Commissioner on how exceptional the entrepreneurs have been, and that they continue to receive support from the Agro prosessing and competitiveness project of the world bank.

She pleaded with the High Commissioner to support them in any way by ensuring they also enter the regional market through the desired networking.

Sierra Leone Local Content Agency Director General, Fodeba Daboh appreciated the High Commissioner for the visit while promising that his Agency and all others working together in the same interest will continue to project Sierra Leone’s local content to Africa and the world at large.

The Director General of Sierra Leone Local Content Agency (SLLCA), Mr. Fodeba Daboh, and other senior government officials recently attended the seventh International Summit & Exhibition for Applied Education and TVET at the Hunan International Convention & Exhibition Center, Changsha in China.

The summit on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, to Friday, August 18, 2023, was hosted by the International Transnational Education Association (ITEA) and co-hosted by the International Cultural Communication Center Malaysia (ICCCM).

The Summit is a joint Development of National Vocational Education Standards and National Qualifications Frameworks collaborative project with The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Pakistan.

The Sierra Leone delegation comprises the Deputy Minister of Technical and Higher Education Mr. Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara who delivered the keynote address, Chief Technical and Higher Education Officer, Dr Josephous Brimah, the Acting Director of National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Abdul Senesie and the NCTVA representative, Mr Abdul Rahman Sesay.

In his keynote address, the Deputy Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Mr Sarjoh Aziz-Kamara said that His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio’s Big Five changer for sustainable economic development and social process is in line with the objective of this summit. He emphasized that developing middle-level manpower through TVET can help achieve the “Big Five”.

In his address, the Director General of the SLLCA, Mr. Daboh explained that the Agency’s key priority and strategic focus is skills development and strengthening the capacity of local enterprise.

DG Daboh believed that a skilled workforce could create a pool of Sierra Leonean professionals’ workforce ready for immediate use by multinational companies.

He added that the Agency has built and will continue to build a robust network between local firms and their international counterparts.

“It is against that background that we are working diligently with the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and its affiliate Agencies like NCTVA and Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to develop our middle-level manpower and also to curb the persistent skills mismatch between schools and colleges and employing firms,” DG Daboh added.

He disclosed, “So far, we have developed a scorecard for companies registered in Sierra Leone which makes adherence to Agency laws easy and enticing.