Access to finance remains one of the biggest barriers facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sierra Leone. While many businesses have ambitious plans to grow, create jobs and strengthen local supply chains, attracting investment often requires more than a strong business idea.
To secure financing, businesses must also demonstrate sound governance, robust financial management, operational capability and responsible business practices. Yet many entrepreneurs lack access to the tools and guidance needed to understand investor expectations and prepare their businesses for growth.
To help address this challenge, British International Investment (BII), through the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), has partnered with Invest Salone to develop a suite of practical investment readiness resources for Sierra Leonean businesses. The initiative has been supported by the UK Government and developed in collaboration with local stakeholders to strengthen the country’s private sector ecosystem.
The resources include the Sierra Leone Investment Toolkit, an Investment Readiness Scorecard and a Business Advisor Directory. Together, they are designed to help businesses assess their readiness for investment, identify areas for improvement and access practical support as they prepare to raise capital.
At the centre of the initiative is the Investment Readiness Scorecard, which is a simple online self-assessment that enables businesses to evaluate where they are on their investment journey and identify steps that can strengthen their investment proposition. Complementing the scorecard, the Investment Toolkit offers practical guidance on topics that investors typically assess, including governance, business strategy, financial management, operations, environmental and social management, and legal compliance. Meanwhile, the Business Advisor Directory helps connect entrepreneurs with professional service providers operating in Sierra Leone.
The resources were shaped by feedback from workshops with Sierra Leonean SMEs and build on lessons from similar programmes across Africa, while being tailored to the realities of Sierra Leone’s business environment.
For BII, the initiative reflects a broader commitment to supporting frontier markets under its new strategy for 2026-2031 by strengthening the conditions that enable businesses to become investible and attract private capital.
Through ARIA, BII works alongside local partners to address barriers to investment and help create more resilient and dynamic investment ecosystems. It is a collaborative initiative launched by BII and co-funded with two other development finance partners, FMO and Proparco, to unlock investment in frontier markets in Africa.
Alex Kucharski, Director of Market Creation, BII Plus, said: “These three resources help businesses better understand whether they are ready for investment, identify which investors might be right for them, and showcase the local advisory ecosystem that can support them as they look to grow. We are pleased to have worked closely with Invest Salone through the ARIA platform to support Sierra Leone’s investment ecosystem. This reflects BII’s commitment to taking a more hands-on approach in frontier markets, helping to strengthen the conditions that enable businesses to attract investment.”
By helping businesses better understand investor expectations and build the foundations for sustainable growth, these resources aim to strengthen the pipeline of investible businesses in Sierra Leone and support the long-term development of the country’s private sector. You can find the resources available on Invest Salone’s website.
For further information please contact: [email protected]
About British International Investment
British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor. The organisation invests in businesses in developing countries to improve people’s lives and help protect the planet. BII’s work targets the underlying causes of poverty and the climate crisis, helping countries break free from aid dependency for good.
Between 2026-2031, at least 40 per cent of BII’s total new commitments by value will be in climate finance. BII is also a founding member of the 2X Challenge which raised over $33 billion between 2018-2023 to empower women’s economic development. The company has investments in nearly 1,700 businesses and total net assets of £9.88 billion. For more information, visit: www.bii.co.uk | watch here. Follow British International Investment on LinkedIn, Bluesky and X.
