Sierra Leone’s National Export Strategy: Implementation Issues and Recommendations

Abstract

This report concentrates on the development of an overall strategy for promoting export growth in Sierra Leone. This follows a specific request from the Sierra Leone authorities, in the context of the International Growth Centre (IGC) Country Programme of Sierra Leone. This report was carried out through a fact-finding mission in May 2011. The mission received the full cooperation of the relevant ministries and agencies, in particular the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA). The mission also benefitted from the views of the private sector, foreign and domestic, bilateral donors and international development agencies. A preliminary version of this report was discussed at a meeting at SLIEPA headquarters in Freetown on May 24, 2011.