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Act now to earn first mover advantage, Sierra Leone’s President tells investors

President Ernest Bai Koroma told investors yesterday that through a combination of smart development and business-friendly reforms, Sierra Leone is on the path to economic transformation.

The Annual Leadership Forum for private equity investors, which is hosted by the FT’s This is Africa and the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), heard the case for investment direct from the President on Monday morning. He said:

“From the very beginning of my Presidency, in September 2007, my government has been committed to promoting trade and investment... I hope all of you recognise the investment potential in a country like Sierra Leone and the broader African continent. Return potential is high across a wide variety of sectors. Risks and barriers do still exist, but creative private equity funds and investors who act now will reap significantly higher returns than those who wait.”

In his keynote speech, President Koroma also highlighted the investment potential in Africa as a whole, arguing that it is ‘perhaps more significant than anywhere else in the world’. President Koroma told the audience of private equity investors and limited partners that Africa has 10% of the world’s oil reserves, 40% of its gold reserves and 80% of its chromium and platinum group metals, in addition to some of largest deposits of uranium, iron ore and copper. He added that Africa’s investment potential goes far beyond its resources: the continent is home to almost 60% of the world’s total available cropland, and investment in telecommunications, banking and retail were already reaping rewards.

With its government committed to a pro-business reform programme, Sierra Leone has risen 20 places in World Bank Doing Business Indicators in the last three years, and has been named the easiest place in West Africa to register a business. And with new investments in ethanol production, tourism and hydro carbons, Sierra Leone is due to receive almost $2 billion in new investment this year.

Responding to the President’s speech, the Africa Governance Initiative’s Patron Tony Blair said:

“The growing interest in the Private Equity in Africa Summit underlines the vast array of economic opportunities in Africa. Through AGI’s work in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Liberia, I have seen these opportunities first hand - and seen how smart investors are already capitalising on them. This is not philanthropy: the commercial returns now available in many parts of Africa are an opportunity investors cannot afford to miss. But what investors need is confidence in the stability and effectiveness of government. Improved governance is the key to unlocking the investment that will help lift Africa out of poverty.” 

The summit hosted several panel discussions on topics from investing in SMEs to managing risk, and panellists included senior representatives from the African Development Bank, Standard Bank and the International Finance Corporation. Other speakers at the summit included Pravin Gordhan, the South African Finance Minister, Dr James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank and Stephen O'Brien MP, the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, who introduced President Koroma as the keynote speaker.

For more on AGI’s work in private sector development and Sierra Leone, see here.