Resource information
This Investment Climate Policy Note
(ICPN) for Sierra Leone evaluates the country's
business environment by: (i) analyzing barriers to private
sector investment and growth and how they vary among
different types of firms; (ii) benchmarking Sierra
Leone's investment climate and firm performance to that
of other countries; and (iii) providing recommendations to
promote and strengthen the private sector. The ICPN is
supported by the statistical analysis of a 2009 enterprise
survey of 150 formal, manufacturing and service firms with
five or more employees based in Western Area/Freetown and
Kenema, two of Sierra Leone's major urban centers. The
ICPN is organized as follows. Chapter one provides context
for Sierra Leone's business environment. Chapter two
discusses the performance of Sierra Leone firms, with a
focus on labor productivity. Chapter three examines how
investment climate constraints cost businesses money and
time, discusses main bottlenecks to conducting business as
identified by managers of Sierra Leone firms, and reviews
obstacles related to electricity supply, tax rates,
informality, corruption and access to land. Chapter four
analyzes data on how firms access and use finance, and
chapter five discusses exports and internationalization in
Sierra Leone. Chapter six concludes and provides policy
options to improve the investment climate.
