By Ibrahim Barrie
In a bid to exhibit Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs to the world market, the Local Content Agency has ended a two-day Annual Trade fair exhibition in Freetown. At the event, the Director-General Fodeba Daboh reckoned that “the responsibility of the Agency is to create links for local suppliers and foreign direct investors which will strengthen the domestic private sector in Sierra Leone”.
The Annual Trade fare exhibition targets groups of local entrepreneurs in various sectors in the development chain which range from agro-business, manufacturing, arts and crafts, cosmetics, food and beverages, clothing and textiles etc. The Made in Sierra Leone products were visibly displayed at the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko hotel Garden on 10th December 2021 and continued at the National Stadium the following day.
In his Keynote address, Rev. Ibrahim Sesay Jones, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said to promote trade and investment for people who are looking for access to funding, support and market linkages, as a Government they “would bring a bank that is called Afreximbank, 65% of that bank is owned by Africans. This will give them more chances and more leverage.”
He said for made in Sierra Leone products to get even or ahead of products in the world market, packaging should be less expensive. “When they bring packages they have to pay customs and also have other costs, so all of that adds to the cost and it undermines the integrity of the product. Packaging is a game-changer” he said. He said if the cost of packaging is less expensive, entrepreneurs will provide quality products with high standards and added value that will compete with foreign products.
Princess Brigham, founder of Golden Baby Food said packaging is a major challenge for young entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone. “The plastic pack is not available in Sierra Leone, we have to order from the United States of America which makes it very difficult to get and it’s expensive,” she said.
The representative of the EU delegation to Sierra Leone, Mario Caivano welcomed the ideas of the entrepreneurs. He said the EU has been supporting agriculture and employment programmes. “In the next cycle from 2022 to 2027 improving the business climate, SME development, and job creation are going to be among our top priorities”, Caivano stated.
In her statement, Naasu Fofanah of Susue Chilli Coconut oils, said she was a bit apprehensive about the growth and success of her business when she started. She added that coconut oil is one of the most expensive agro-processing products that is yet to be used in a way to show that value has been added to it.
Sybil Bailor, Chairman, Board of Directors of Sierra Leone Local Content Agency said that their work primarily is to help Sierra Leonean- owned local business grow to global business. “Our role is to bridge that gap”, he said.
She encouraged Sierra Leoneans to support Sierra Leonean businesses in their development by buying their products.
Hindolo Sandi of Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Company (SLPMC) spoke about producing quality products that meet the market needs. “Quality is one of our key concerns by making sure that our products go through the rigorous normal processing and we ensure our products meet our customer demand,” he assured.
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