Research and consulting in Sierra Leone
Country Overview:
IOA’s economists have built upon our extensive research and consulting on Sierra Leone to inform an understanding of a country whose lack of economic freedom has resulted in a negligible industrial sector. Economic restraints even hinder the main business of Sierra Leoneans, subsistence agriculture, and hinders the need to eradicate the wide-spread poverty that is the country’s primary ailment. Civil society that might provide solutions to societal problems operates under constraints, and government corruption remains a significant impediment to economic and societal progress.
If good governance can be established, the country’s natural resources provide a good basis for economic recovery. Petroleum deposits suggest a possible fuel-export industry, while deposits of minerals include bauxite, chromium, coltan, diamonds, gold, iron ore, platinum and other minerals. That Sierra Leone has some of Africa’s best surfing indicates the coastline’s potential for tourism.
Key opportunities in Sierra Leone:
- Unexploited oil and mineral deposits are the basis for an energy industry and an expanded mining industry
- Some of Africa’s best surfing can show the way for a seaside-based tourism sector
- Fishing and agriculture are established businesses, and IOA analysts find they can be industrialised with investment
Key concerns/risks in Sierra Leone:
- Wide-spread poverty is worsening
- Government corruption and over-regulation of all sectors are encumbrances to progress
- Crime is a problem nationwide, especially in Freetown
A sample IOA research report on Sierra Leone: