EU-Funded Opportunity Salone Programme, Supports Entrepreneurs for Job Creation

Over the years the global COVID-19 pandemic had affected major developmental activities for countries, especially third-world countries, Sierra Leone is not an exception. This factor, and many others have stalled economic developments in the country leaving the burden on the government to grapple with.

The European Union in Sierra Leone under its Jobs and Growth programme is funding a four-year project, through the Opportunity Salone programme managed by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Opportunity Salone is set up to promote the creation of decent jobs and increase livelihoods of the Sierra Leonean Youths, Women, and Persons living with disabilities across the districts of Bombali, Port Loko, Bo, and Kenema districts respectively. The project is working in three Value Chains of Cassava, Vegetables and Palm oil.

The Project is now co-investing in businesses in the value chains to facilitate improvements and creation of new products to meet demands in the already competitive market systems. BOKATALA, SEDMO, ADAMARIS, IMAM MOIWA PLANTATION, GREEN ENERGY, and NOGOWA GREEN FARMERS are the companies selected to carry out the pilot phase to improve productivity on these value chains ranging from hygienic processing, value-added services, create new products to serve the need of consumers and finally packaging and branding of the products to compete at high standard levels.

Apex Bank and SMEDA are the partners working to create favourable loan conditions for farmers participating in the value chains. The project aims to give technical skills to workers to achieve decent jobs for its targeted groups to increase livelihoods and create access to better paying markets.

In Conclusion, this project supports basic routine maintenance of feeder roads with the selection from the district councils to ease access to markets and support the improvement of labour-based technical skills of youth, women, and persons living with disability in these communities of operation. The Employment intensive investment programme, EIIP component of the project is charged to maintain a 200km feeder roads in agricultural communities in the four districts. So far, a 33km feeder road has been maintained and set to do another 85km routine maintenance by the end of 2023.