Category: Business & Finance

Freetown, 17th November 2025- “Every time I import, I end up paying more,” said thirty-one-year-old Zainab Conteh, with her voice coated with sadness. For more than 17 years, she has bought and sold beauty products for women, but lately the trade has tightened around her, becoming harder to navigate with each passing month.

Freetown, 17th November 2025 – Sierra Leone’s electricity sector is emerging as one of the most critical bottlenecks to private sector growth, with unreliable supply, weak regulation, and costly service delivery driving up business losses and fiscal strain. According to the World Bank’s Sierra Leone Economic Update (October 2025), over 64% of the population lacks access to electricity, and those connected face frequent and prolonged outages.

Freetown, 10th November 2025- Sierra Leone continues to face structural challenges in its business environment, ranking below several regional peers in key areas of insolvency resolution, financial services, and market competitiveness, according to the World Bank’s October 2025 edition of the Sierra Leone Economic Update (SLEU).

Freetown, 10th November 2025- Sierra Leone’s domestic revenue collection surged in 2024, reaching 9.2 percent of GDP, a notable increase of 1.8 percentage points from the previous year. The rise reflects a combination of tax policy reforms, improved enforcement, and strategic one-off payments, according to the latest fiscal analysis.

Freetown, 10th November 2025- Sierra Leone’s energy sector is emerging as a major fiscal risk, with the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) continuing to accumulate losses despite rising government subsidies.