The British ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair says Sierra Leone is ready for substantial international investment.
Blair was speaking at the Sierra Leone Conference in London.
Following seven years of stability, steady growth and ongoing economic reforms, the country offers many opportunities to committed investors. Such investments are starting to come to the region.
Last week, CDC Group announced a private equity investment focused solely on Sierra Leone. This is the first private equity investment by a development finance institution since the end of the country’s civil war in 2002.
CDC will commit USD5m to Sierra Investment Fund, which is managed by locally based manager ManoCap. The investment will provide financial backing to entrepreneurs in the region, stimulating economic growth and strengthening the burgeoning private sector in the country.
Rod Evison, CDC’s managing director for Africa, says: “Sierra Leone has made significant economic and political progress since the end of the civil war and its democratic government is keen to attract foreign investment. The country has until recently largely been ignored by investors because of its history of violent conflict, its poor infrastructure and a shortage of managerial skills.
“Economic growth in Sierra Leone has been strong, averaging about seven per cent annually over the past five years, despite a chronic lack of access to credit. While Sierra Leone has been reliant on donor funding, CDC’s commitment to private sector investment will encourage entrepreneurial talent to establish and grow businesses, which in turn will increase employment and reduce poverty.”
