Minister Salima Bah on Sierra Leone’s tech ambition

After I spoke to Sierra Leone’s Minister of Communication, Know-how, and Innovation, Salima Bah, final February, the ministry she led was lower than a yr previous, and the nation’s ambitions, although daring, have been nonetheless largely on paper. “We’re prepared to learn the way others have achieved it; we aren’t inventing the wheel,” she mentioned on the time.

Eighteen months on, the nation has walked the discuss. In that point, the federal government has invested greater than $132 million instantly into know-how and innovation, masking coverage, infrastructure, and funding tasks just like the Common Entry Improvement Fund. The IMF forecasts report web customers have risen from 1.84 million in early 2023 to round 2.32 million in 2025. In June, the nation unveiled West Africa’s first open-access 5G standalone community.

However for Bah, infrastructure is simply the muse.

“You may’t discuss know-how or innovation in case your infrastructure isn’t there,” she advised me in our newest dialog. “However you may’t simply say you’re organising and use that as an excuse to not ship. So we’ve been concurrently rolling out and implementing initiatives.”

Nonetheless, the federal government’s tech ambition goes past infrastructure and digital service supply. It’s underpinned by a broader imaginative and prescient: to place Sierra Leone as a regional hub for innovation.

This interview has been edited for size and readability.

What has modified since we final spoke? What has the journey been like for you personally?

Rather a lot has positively modified. I don’t know if it was clear within the first interview, however I used to be coming right into a brand-new ministry. Some elements of the ministry existed by way of communication, however know-how and innovation have been added to the mandate. And there have been no buildings in place inside the establishment to deal with that. So a whole lot of work went into organising the establishment, creating methods, roadmaps, and placing people in place to guide the work.

It’s not the sexiest a part of the job. It’s not what folks discuss, but it surely’s vital. As a result of with out that, as they are saying, in the event you fail to plan, you intend to fail. That’s been actually vital for us. However you may’t simply say you’re organising and use that as an excuse to not ship. So we’ve been concurrently rolling out and implementing initiatives.

Since then, we’ve hosted two annual tech summits. They’ve been vital as a result of, for a very long time, the federal government wasn’t a part of making a platform for the ecosystem. It was largely personal sector-led. We needed to create an enormous platform to carry everybody collectively and have strategic conversations in regards to the ecosystem and push the federal government’s agenda.

We simply concluded the second a couple of months in the past. And we might already see the progress each within the ecosystem and the character of conversations. In communication, too, we’ve seen huge development. For instance, the launch of the Open Entry 5G community. And once we discuss digital authorities, how authorities can leverage tech to ship on the nationwide growth agenda, we’ve additionally seen important progress throughout sectors.

Let’s discuss infrastructure, that’s the bedrock of enabling an ecosystem. What are a number of the challenges and alternatives in increasing fibre connectivity?

You may’t discuss tech or innovation in case your infrastructure isn’t there. For a very long time, that’s what the federal government targeted on. That’s why the ministry was solely known as the Ministry of Communication. The main target was on increasing infrastructure. Since 2018, we’ve seen an over 75% enhance in fibre spine penetration and worldwide bandwidth capability.

We’ve additionally improved resilience and redundancy by interconnecting with neighbouring nations like Guinea. We negotiated emergency bandwidth capability allocation as a part of that. In rural areas, the variety of cell websites has virtually doubled since 2018. Large authorities curiosity and funding have gone into that.

However the largest problem is financing. Infrastructure is cost-intensive. The federal government has put in financing, and so has the personal sector and growth companions. One lesson we discovered from 2018 until now’s the significance of making an enabling atmosphere for personal sector participation. No authorities alone can do that.

Some of the important partnerships we had was the decoupling and privatisation of the undersea fibre cable. It was once managed by a authorities car known as the Sierra Leone Cable Restricted, SALCAB. However managing and sustaining it was a problem. The federal government took a tough resolution to privatise it, an unpopular transfer on the time. However now, we’ve been vindicated. The personal companion launched skilled requirements, and the federal government now sees returns on the cable.

They’ve expanded the capability from 90Gbps to over 500Gbps, elevated the redundancy ring, constructed a metro community in Freetown, expanded into fintech, and launched OneMobile, a data-only cell community on an open-access 5G infrastructure, the primary in West Africa.

We’ve additionally been in a position to maintain three cell operators, now even a fourth. For a inhabitants of 8 million, that’s an enormous deal. Different nations with related or bigger populations have just one or two operators. I believe that’s a testomony to the federal government insurance policies relating to the personal sector.

What’s the authorities’s considering behind its assist for the tech ecosystem? What metrics are you utilizing to measure affect?

On the final summit, the president did a fireplace chat the place he talked about this. Individuals all the time ask why we’re pushing tech a lot when we’ve got so many different issues. He advised a private story, how, throughout his first time period as a minister, he had to return to highschool, and that’s when he first touched a pc. His classmates have been ending duties in 10 minutes; it took him three hours. And he traced that again to the drawback of coming from a rustic the place alternatives like that weren’t accessible for everyone. 

That lesson caught with him: that if we need to develop as a nation, folks will need to have entry to know-how. We now have to spend money on know-how and innovation, as a result of that’s the one approach that we get to try this.

When you constantly grow to be shoppers, you’re simply consuming know-how, you’re consuming innovation, after which you recognize you’re getting the quick finish of the deal. He desires us to get to the purpose the place we might additionally develop our options internally, and the way we might be a part of the worldwide discussions. 

Entry to cell and web companies ought to not be seen as a privilege. Web entry ought to be a fundamental human proper. No matter the place residents are in Sierra Leone, whether or not within the far-to-reach locations or city areas, they need to have entry to cell and Web companies.

That’s why we’ve invested in tasks just like the Common Entry Improvement Fund. We use it to attach underserved areas the place personal sector funding alone doesn’t make sense.

We don’t simply arrange and stroll away. We companion with personal sector gamers who take over and function the infrastructure. We measure affect by asking what modified after entry was launched: How has it affected training? Healthcare? Has e-commerce for farmers improved? Are healthcare staff utilizing the web to do analysis or talk higher?

We transcend saying we related 400,000 folks. We ask: What’s the downstream affect on training, healthcare, agriculture, e-commerce, social welfare, and entry to data?

What’s the present standing of Felei Tech Metropolis, significantly the plan to draw funding, and guarantee native gamers profit?

I do know for sure we’re beginning building this yr. I believe we’re simply ready for the rains to die down barely. We’ve already secured commitments from the personal sector to do sure constructions on there.

One of many elementary issues that we’re making an attempt to design inside this house is how will we design and develop the framework in a approach that it’s not only a government-led initiative. As a authorities, the place we need to play inside that is simply to be a conductor, after which to create the chance for the personal sector to return in. That’s why we invested so much. By means of our partnership with the African Improvement Financial institution, we’re in a position to safe partnership and funding with them to have a look at how we design and develop a mannequin of how we govern and handle, and function that house.

We’ve studied different fashions: Rwanda’s Kigali Innovation Metropolis, Nigeria, Cape City, and Konza in Kenya. However we perceive that Sierra Leone has a distinct context by way of who we’re. There are such a lot of components that it’s worthwhile to take into play: financial measurement, human inhabitants, and geographical place. We will’t copy-paste. We’re internet hosting a roundtable quickly to validate our mannequin with native and regional companions.

We need to validate the mannequin and design that we’ve got and that we consider might work. As a result of if on the finish of the day, you need all these folks to be a part of it, additionally they must be a part of the preliminary design and really feel as if they’ve possession. The thought of the Felei Tech Metropolis isn’t just about infrastructure and constructing an area. It’s about creating an ecosystem. 

And already, we’re seeing some indications. For instance, we hosted the regional Startup World Cup in Sierra Leone for the primary time. Startups from throughout West Africa got here to compete, and a Sierra Leonean startup gained; they’ll now characterize West Africa in Silicon Valley. That’s what we’re making an attempt to construct.

We now have extra forward-looking, progressive-minded folks in authorities who’re enabling the ecosystem from a policy-making standpoint. Are you able to communicate on insurance policies within the context of Sierra Leone? What different reforms or insurance policies are you engaged on to additional assist the ecosystem?

Coverage is unquestionably essential. Authorities should take into consideration strategic path and steer the ecosystem. Each nation has to determine: What position will we need to play within the international house?

For Sierra Leone, measurement issues as a result of it’s an element even for our startups. I all the time truly draw the analogy with Sierra Leone and Nigeria. A startup in Nigeria can market only for Nigeria; it has 200 million folks to promote to. However a startup in Sierra Leone can’t afford to try this. On the very begin, it’s a must to take into consideration scalability exterior of Sierra Leone. That’s the identical factor with the federal government as effectively. We perceive that we are able to’t develop insurance policies and take into consideration innovation and entrepreneurship in a restricted approach.

We’re leveraging our Mano River Union place, our open borders, and the truth that we’re English-speaking. From way back to 2018, our Nationwide Innovation and Digital Technique positioned Sierra Leone as an AI lab. It’s a small doc, but it surely’s been our bible. It was forward of its time.

Our innovation and entrepreneurship coverage is constructed round three pillars: entice, thrive, and retain. We entice concepts and startups; assist them thrive by way of insurance policies and assist; and retain them by encouraging them to remain rooted at the same time as they scale.

We’ve checked out nations like Singapore and Eire, small nations that used their measurement as a bonus. Firms seeking to increase into the area can arrange right here first. That’s how we’re fascinated by our insurance policies.

There isn’t any innovation with out folks. How are you constructing Sierra Leone’s technical expertise pipeline?

Expertise is a large issue. The final summit targeted closely on abilities growth. We ran over 35 intro-to-tech programs and a job honest. Some individuals have been already in tech, however many have been simply curious. The aim was to spark curiosity.

Since 2018, there’s been a big shift in formal training. We now have extra establishments developing which can be tech-focused. We now have round 8 or 9 tech-focused tertiary establishments, in comparison with only one or two earlier than. And even inside the major fundamental training stage, we see colleges, like all major colleges, secondary colleges, now utterly give attention to tech. We’ve additionally revised the curriculum and made positive that we improve the STEM program in our nationwide curriculum.

Outdoors of formal training, there’s been a increase in self-taught expertise. Persons are switching from legislation or accounting to software program growth and information science. We performed a nationwide digital abilities evaluation to know the place we’re and the place international alternatives lie.

We’re specializing in 5 key talent units the place we predict Sierra Leone might be globally aggressive. We need to make investments closely in these areas, develop a big pool of expertise, and grow to be identified for it. The thought is: if somebody desires to rent nice information scientists, they need to consider Sierra Leone.

Digital governance is a really key a part of how the federal government is altering its considering round tech. What progress has been made thus far by way of making authorities companies extra accessible to folks, and what are the following steps for digital governance in Sierra Leone?

As a authorities, our job is to ship companies for folks, whether or not it’s passports. driver’s license, or start certificates. Meaning we’ve got to consider the best way to enhance that course of for residents, making it extra environment friendly and efficient for them. We prioritise the general public sector as a result of it’s a basis for every part. We will’t discuss any side or any sector of another sector of presidency if we don’t enhance the general public sector. Each different sector has to take care of the general public sector.

There are two main initiatives we’re actually happy with as a result of they’re each homegrown. One is an HR Hub that we’re within the strategy of rolling out. One of many largest issues our authorities has is accounting for folks. A key function of the HR Hub is that it geolocates attendance and lets supervisors see who’s reporting in actual time. The platform has digitised how the federal government manages our largest useful resource—folks, how we handle our processes, lowering paper-based processes, producing extra transparency and accountability.

The opposite initiative is one other platform known as WanGov, which we intend to be a single window platform for all authorities companies. Residents can go to a single platform, apply on-line, pay utilizing completely different fee choices, and use the nationwide postal service to obtain paperwork.

The most popular subject in African and international tech proper now’s AI. How is Sierra Leone fascinated by AI?

In Sierra Leone, identical to all people else, we’re all grappling with two issues: the best way to leverage AI and the best way to restrict the dangers.

To start with, we’re very eager to have a look at regionally. That’s why we’re very comfortable to assist the AI council that was simply launched in Rwanda by Sensible Africa. As a result of we additionally really feel AI is a type of areas the place, as a area, we’ve got to return collectively. 

We’re all going through the problem of our infrastructure; we’re all in probably the identical boat relating to AI. The problem and threat is that AI methods and options are being developed globally, however with out our information. These options form funding, safety, and financial selections, and we are able to’t be ignored.

Domestically, we’re conducting an AI Readiness Evaluation, infrastructure, coverage, information governance, human capability, and the startup ecosystem. That may inform our nationwide technique. 

We’re working with the World Financial institution to organise an AI Innovation Problem to determine AI-driven options within the native ecosystem. We’re additionally partnering with the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how (MIT) to have a look at how we are able to develop an AI coaching program inside the authorities. We consider public sector staff ought to use ChatGPT to make their work develop sooner. 

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