Lessons from countries that have experienced widespread shocks, such as a disease pandemic, show that diaspora investors have been among the first movers in helping their home countries on the road to economic recovery. This forum is the next phase of the Sierra Leone Diaspora Investment and Trade Study launched by the World Bank in January 2015 to garner an understanding of the Sierra Leone diaspora’s motivations that can inform the development of new investment models, technical assistance, and policy changes leading to deeper diaspora engagement, the restoration of investor confidence, and the building of strong public-private partnerships for Sierra Leone’s development post-Ebola.
This day-long event will serve as the launch of the results of a survey completed by over 600 Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora revealing their views on the challenges and opportunities to investing in Sierra Leone. The results will showcase key findings and actionable areas of opportunity for diaspora investment engagement. In addition we will move the conversation forward by bringing together donors, financial institutions, diaspora business entrepreneurs, and other key diaspora stakeholders for a discussion around case studies of how other countries and institutions have successfully engaged diaspora communities for development.
The afternoon will consist of a five-track thematic workshop focused on the investment areas along which the Sierra Leone diaspora has indicated the strongest interest. These are Real Estate Investing, Social Impact Investing, Volunteerism & Skills Transfer, Entrepreneurship & Diaspora Direct Investment, and Private Equity & Venture Capital Investing.