Sierra Leone Drafts Startup Act as Freetown Workshop Opens

Sierra Leone has moved a step closer to a national Startup Act. The Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI), in partnership with the International Trade Centre (ITC), convened a two-day workshop in Freetown to examine the country's startup ecosystem and strengthen support for entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

The Startup Ecosystem Policy Validation Workshop and Entrepreneurship Support Organisation (ESO) Formalisation Consultation runs through the Ready Salone Project. KOICA NIGERIA OFFICE and Felei TechCity are also involved in the engagement.

Government representatives, entrepreneurs, investors, universities, private-sector actors, ESOs and development partners are participating. The discussions target the key constraints holding back Sierra Leone's startup ecosystem: access to finance, skills, markets, infrastructure and business support.

The engagement draws on a national startup ecosystem diagnostic. That diagnostic, commissioned as part of the broader policy effort, gives participants an evidence base for identifying where the support system fails entrepreneurs.

A Startup Act in the Making

The consultation feeds directly into the development of Sierra Leone's emerging Startup Act. The draft legislation would give the country's founders a dedicated legal framework rather than relying on general commercial law.

A second focus of the workshop is the network of hubs, incubators, accelerators and other Entrepreneurship Support Organisations operating within the country. Stakeholders are considering a proposed framework for the classification and coordination of these organisations. The goal is a more structured support system for entrepreneurs, replacing an informal patchwork of actors with a coordinated national network.

What Comes Next

The two-day engagement continues tomorrow. Participants are expected to work towards practical recommendations aimed at strengthening the support available to Sierra Leonean entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

The Ministry said the initiative is intended to contribute to a stronger startup ecosystem and create more opportunities for Sierra Leone's innovators, entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

For a country where founders have long faced gaps in finance, skills and infrastructure, the outcome of this week's sessions — and the Startup Act it informs — will determine whether government-backed coordination can translate diagnostic findings into enforceable policy.