Sierra Leone Telegraph: 8 October 2024:
Expert intelligence on Sierra Leone’s impact investment market, first-hand insights from successful investors and the launch of a deal book containing 15 viable impact investment opportunities are the highlights of the Sierra Leone Investment Summit, which is taking place on Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 October 2024 at this year’s AFSIC – Investing in Africa conference and exhibition in London.
The AFSIC 2024 Sierra Leone Investment Summit is a collaboration between three organisations with significant practical impact investment experience in Sierra Leone: Invest Salone, a UK funded private sector development programme; the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), an initiative led by British International Investment (BII) and FMO, the Dutch development bank, to unlock investment opportunities in Africa’s frontier markets; and Pangea Global Ventures, a business advisory firm implementing the USAID supported Catalyzing Investment in Small Business (CISB) programme.
The Sierra Leone Investment Summit provides perspectives on the growing role of impact investment on the Sierra Leone economy, with panels sharing information on successful transactions, derisking, investment opportunities and pipeline development.
Speakers include representatives from Sierra Leone’s National Investment Board, BII, Proparco, Ecobank Sierra Leone, Cygnum Capital, Truestone Impact Investment, and Sherbro Alliance, among others.
The 15 opportunities, which are showcased in the Sierra Leone Deal Book, include businesses in agriculture, logistics, affordable housing, carbon credits, manufacturing, financial services, fintech and fishing, with ticket sizes ranging from US$0.5 million to US$25 million. More information can be found by visiting our digital booth.
Throughout AFSIC 2024, representatives of Invest Salone, ARIA and Pangea will be available at Exhibition Stand W14 from 7–9 October, where there will be opportunities for face-to-face meetings and to network and connect with new businesses.
Christina Clark-Lowes, Invest Salone’s investment lead explained that the objective of the Sierra Leone Investment Summit and Deal Book was to demonstrate both the breadth of impact investment potential in Sierra Leone and the support available for committed investors.
“Although markets like Sierra Leone offer a diverse range of investment opportunities, they are often perceived as high risk. One of the objectives of the Sierra Leone Investment Summit is to show interested investors that it is possible to navigate the challenges, by hearing from existing investors and learning from their experiences, as well as demonstrate the support services such as country expertise, research and analysis, relationship building and investment pipeline development, available from organisations like Invest Salone, ARIA and Pangea.”
John Scicchitano, Vice President of Pangea, emphasises the critical role of private enterprise in Sierra Leone’s development. “While much attention is given to the public sector and development projects, it’s the army of entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized enterprises throughout the country who make the greatest contribution to growth. Many such businesses have proven their capacity to thrive even in challenging times, and can create prosperity, food security and stability with the right support and investments.”
Alex Kucharski, BII’s Head of West Africa for ARIA said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Invest Salone and Pangea on our mutual objective of showcasing investment opportunities in Sierra Leone. Development finance institutions (DFIs) such as BII can be partners to support the growth of the private sector in the country. ARIA was set up with the overarching goal of supporting DFIs to invest more in frontier markets such as Sierra Leone.”
The UK Government said: “The AFSIC 2024 Sierra Leone Investment Summit is an opportunity to promote sustainable inclusive investment in Sierra Leone. Increasing investment in Sierra Leone’s private sector will help generate economic growth and job creation, this is especially important in the current macroeconomic environment. The UK is committed to accelerating impactful investment into Sierra Leone, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with Invest Salone, BII and other partners.”
About Invest Salone
Invest Salone is a UK funded private sector development programme, which helps connect export buyers to export-ready firms in Sierra Leone to boost international trade and offers de-risking support to encourage investors to engage in new opportunities with potential for development impact.
About ARIA
The Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) is an initiative founded by BII and FMO which aims to unlock investment in frontier markets across Africa. It currently operates in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, DRC and Ethiopia. ARIA supports BII and FMO as well as other DFIs to increase investment in the markets of focus. It works closely with companies on the ground to enable them to become investment ready, helps build investment ecosystems, and engages governments and donors. In Sierra Leone, ARIA has a partnership with the British High Commission and works with its programme Invest Salone to boost investment. ARIA has developed a pool of investment opportunities with a number being in DFI pipelines.
About Pangea Global Ventures
Pangea is a boutique advisory firm working at the intersection of business growth and economic development, focusing on facilitating investment in West African enterprises. It leads the Catalyzing Investment in Small Business (CISB) initiative with support from USAID, which facilitates entry into the Sierra Leone market for impact investors by connecting them with pre-screened, investor-ready small and medium-sized enterprises.
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