…SMEDA CEO
January 15, 2019
By Mohamed Massaquoi
CEO Sharka Samuel Sannoh
Chief Executive Officer of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDA) has vowed to promote small and medium enterprises in Sierra Leone, stating that government was genuinely concerned about building the capacity of Sierra Leoneans through business.
Sharka Samuel Sannoh made the statement over the weekend during his nationwide sensitization and capacity building programme for stakeholders in Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Port Loko districts respectively.
He said the reason for the nationwide engagement was to create awareness and to establish public private partnership platforms for inclusive and competitive small and medium enterprises and strategic service delivery programmes across the country.
“This engagement will serve as a sensitization and familiarization exercise and an opportunity to showcase to various stakeholders within the sector and to emphasize that the agency operates on an open door policy. We have brought together over 300 participants from various sectors within the SME landscape in Sierra Leone. We have primarily targeted all registered SMEs and potential entrepreneurs in the formal and even those in the informal sectors, SMEs in various sectors, NGOs, development partners, financial institutions, youth entrepreneurs among others,” he said.
He said the agency is an independent public private sector development agency established by an Act of Parliament in 2016, to engage small and medium enterprises in Sierra Leone.
“The work of SMEDA cannot be done in isolation. While the agency preserves its importance to foster economic growth, job creation, investment, innovation and poverty reduction, its functioning could be much improved based on its outreach and public participation. I am pleased that we got massive cooperation among key stakeholders in Bo, Kenema, Makeni and Port Loko. This is part of our 2019 approach not only to rebrand the organization but to sensitize members of the public about our operations and the opportunities within the agency,” he concluded.