4-yr Empowering Youth through Digital Technologies project launched in Freetown.

The United Nations through its Resident Coordinator, Seraphine Wakana and the visiting International Trade Centre (ITC) Executive Director, Pamela Coke Hamilton, last  Thursday joined the Government of Sierra Leone, represented by the Chief Minister, Dr David Moinina Sengeh and the Deputy Country Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Nigeria in Sierra Leone, Ki-Hyun Baik, at the signing and launch of a four-year Empowering Youth through Digital Technologies project for young Sierra Leonean innovators and entrepreneurs.

The ITC-implemented and KOICA-funded project, also known as READY SALONE, was launched at the Foreign Service Academy in Freetown. The Ministers of Youth Affairs, Trade and Industry, Communication and Innovation, youth innovators and entrepreneurs, and a representative from the University of Sierra Leone were in attendance.

Speaking at the event, the Resident Coordinator Seraphine Wakana said that countries worldwide are increasingly integrating digital technologies into their economic frameworks, fostering new business models, and creating digital ecosystems that support entrepreneurship and job creation.

In Sierra Leone, according to her, "digital transformation has the potential to trigger inclusive growth that will improve the life of her people, especially young people." Furthermore, she noted that the gains hoped to be achieved by yesterday's launch will address a vision of the United Nations through its Pact for the Future. The Pact is a United Nations document adopted in September 2024 as a comprehensive agreement to modernize international cooperation and prepare for future challenges, covering a wide range of issues, including Digital cooperation, that will increase the use of science in policymaking.

ITC's Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, established that READY Salone aims to enable more young people to use digital technologies to grow their businesses, pursue entrepreneurship, create jobs, and improve social inclusion. She stressed that it is about fuelling the creative spark that drives many entrepreneurs and small business leaders to create something new—providing goods and services that help transform their communities, their country, and perhaps even the world. 

She said she cannot wait to welcome the first cohort of youth-led startups under READY Salone and that from what they are already seeing from the applications so far, it will be a very impressive group. The Executive Director also expressed gratitude for working closely with local government partners like the Ministry of Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, local BSOs, civil society groups, private sector organizations, and international partners like KOICA.

 Ki-Hyun Baik from KOICA said this significant milestone is a testament to a tripartite arrangement between the Governments of Korea, Sierra Leone, and ITC. The project will enable the youth to create jobs and take advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities, adding that the lion's share of the 10,00 beneficiaries of the project will be women and persons with disabilities, he noted.

Minister of Trade and Industry Ibrahim Alpha Sesay stated that ITC has been a key partner in Sierra Leone's development, and the country has significantly benefited from this relationship. According to the Minister, the Government is ready to mobilize resources to provide job opportunities and skills for the youth.

In his keynote address, Chief Minister Dr David Moinina Sengeh thanked KOICA for funding the projects, which resulted from conversations they started years ago and led to our current situation.

She also spoke about the readiness of the country's and partners' partners to make the project succeed. "We will deliver on this project," the Chief Minister concluded.

The project will work with youth and young entrepreneurs (with a particular focus on women), business support organizations, tech hubs, and policymakers to build capacities and conditions for Sierra Leonean youth to tap into digital economy opportunities.

It will also increase economic opportunities for 3,000 young people and enable 250 MSMEs to access new markets through four intervention areas: Increasing the capacity of youth to use digital technologies, increasing the competitiveness of young entrepreneurs through digital, improving the services of business support organisations and tech hubs for youth and strengthening inclusive national strategies and policies for the digital economy.