Govt To Build $150M Digital Hub In Bo District

By Osman Kamara

Sierra Leone is seeking to raise $150 million to roll out a far-reaching digital innovation hub strategy led by a new Tech City that covers everything from job creation and training to entrepreneurship and supporting inbound investment.

The new policy approach, which is overseen by the Technology and Innovation Minister, Salima Bah, is intended to position the West African country as an incubation hub for innovators, attracting talents from across the sub-region as well as within the country, she told Semafor Africa, in an interview.

“We want to play the role of being a home for innovative ideas in the very early stages, in the hope that we create an environment that would allow entrepreneurs to thrive,” said Bah.

The Tech City will sit within a 130-acre special economic zone in Tikonko, Bo District, in the middle of the country, about 250 kilometers east of the capital Freetown. It is being adapted to support startups and innovators, according to the Minister. She expressed that the country’s small size, with a GDP of just under $4 billion in 2023 and a population of 8.7 million, could allow it to adapt quickly in a fast-changing environment.

The new digital policy push is being supported by private players, including local telecoms companies; Africell and Orange Sierra Leone, as well as early grant backing from development financial institutions. Africell has committed to building a data center in Tech City, as part of the project, which will be open to third parties, according to Africell Sierra Leone head, Shadi Gerjawi.

The early stages of the plan, which is still being finalized by the government, were rolled out last week at the three-day Sierra Leone Tech Summit in Freetown, which was attended by some 4,000 delegates. President Julius Maada Bio, who was in attendance, gave his support behind the strategy, unveiling plans, including a $50 million digital transformation to modernize the country’s digital infrastructure and promote digital literacy.