In the Spotlight: Some enterprising women entrepreneurs from Sierra Leone
#AwakeningPotential #WomenInEnterprise #CommunityBuilders #LionMountainsRise
Sierra Leone, known for its “Lion Mountains”, is witnessing a quiet yet powerful transformation driven by its women entrepreneurs. These women, resilient and resourceful, are not just building businesses but also reshaping the nation’s economic and social fabric. Despite facing challenges such as limited access to education, finance, and supply chains, particularly in rural areas, women entrepreneurs remain a cornerstone of Sierra Leone’s economic activity.
Historically rooted in trade, their ventures today span agriculture, services, and small-scale manufacturing, creating jobs, supporting families, and fueling community development. Their resilience is evident: many navigated poverty, conflict, and crises like the Ebola epidemic, yet continue to persevere and innovate.
Accelerating Change: How Women Entrepreneurs are Powering Sierra Leone’s Growth
The challenges remain significant. Access to credit is limited, restricting women’s ability to start or expand businesses. Education barriers, particularly in rural regions, hinder skill development, while restricted access to markets and digital tools limits growth potential.
However, support systems are emerging. Financial inclusion initiatives are helping women like Mariyam Turay secure credit and expand operations. Business management training programs empower entrepreneurs such as Gladys to diversify and scale sustainably. Mentorship and networks, including platforms like the OWNERS network, are fostering collaboration and confidence among women entrepreneurs.
Together, these efforts are unlocking the untapped potential of Sierra Leone’s women, turning challenges into opportunities. With increased advocacy, training, and market access, these entrepreneurs are poised to become even stronger drivers of economic growth and social transformation. So, the women entrepreneurs of Sierra Leone do represent actual catalysts of change.
Let us now shine the light on some enterprising women entrepreneurs from Sierra Leone.
- Mariama Kamara, Founder & Director, Smiling Through Light
Smiling Through Light’s Founder and Director is Mariama Kamara. She started the company after a trip to Sierra Leone in 2011, and during the trip, she got an opportunity to travel to different areas of the country and everywhere she went, she saw light was a problem. They were either using kerosene or candles to light up their homes. She drew inspiration from her own experience – as a young girl growing up in Sierra Leone, when she studied by a kerosene lamp at night. This is why she believes in the importance of sustainable energy and the need to work in collaboration with different organizations – to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to access relevant energy sources particularly solar.
So, her startup sells solar lamps to market women on credit allowing them to lease and later own. Apart from that, she has also created clean energy jobs for women and youth. When she is not at the frontlines with her team engaging traditional community leaders about the benefits of solar, she is advocating for energy access for rural women on global platforms.
Through her initiative she has collaborated with a range of organizations – including SciDev.Net, African Health Policy Network, VSO, DFID, SIDA, African Development Association for Progress, Restless Development, the UN, and Africa UK.
- Peagie Foday, Founder, Peagie Woobay Scholarship Fund
Destigmatizing teen pregnancy in Sierra Leone, is what Peagie Foday did during the past decade. Through her foundation, she has provided hundreds of scholarships for girls who would otherwise become dropouts after giving birth. Beyond that, she runs several day-care centers for children of teen moms, so that these vulnerable teens have safe places to leave their kids when they go back to school. On the one hand, she is responsible for re-enrolling teenage moms in school and on the other hand, making childcare and early learning available to their children.
Peagie Woobay Scholarship Fund (PWSF) is a non-profit organization registered in Sweden, Sierra Leone and in the USA. The foundation has a dual purpose of – fund raising for charity and to promote the Sierra Leonean culture abroad.
The funds which are raised are used to educate, inspire and empower girls/mothers and children in Sierra Leone through offering them scholarships. The target groups for these scholarships are – children, girls and teenage mothers who are school drop-outs.
The aim of the scholarship is – to help children who can’t afford school fee, teenage mothers to return to school, and girls to get the opportunity to educate and empower themselves. The foundation is also responsible for paying tuition fees, buying books and uniforms, and also providing day-care for the recipients who have kids.
They do encourage creativity amongst the youths through their resource centers around the country where the girls can learn hand crafts and provides them with some micro-loans for startups. The only way through which the foundation achieves these scholarships is by organizing fund raising events, donations and exhibitions around the world.
- Janice Williams, Founder, Sudu
Janice Williams is a development professional, backed by over a decade of experience in capacity building, education & program management. As the founder of 𝗦𝘂𝗱𝘂, she leverages innovative technology solutions – to provide holistic, family-based care for orphaned and displaced children in Sierra Leone.
Having witnessed Sierra Leone’s broken informal foster system that makes it easy for child trafficking and abuse, she goes all out to find safe families willing – to foster children. Before she places a child with a family, they are vetted both with a medical exam, and they must provide recommendations. Once her org places children with the families they conduct spot checks too. They also make sure each family gets child support. No child placed with a foster family has ever been harmed or run away. Janice is on a mission to protect orphans and safeguard orphans.
- Bidemi Carrol, Co-Founder, The Learning Foundation
The mission of The Learning Foundation is – to develop curious and avid readers, engaged in their own learning.
Bidemi Carrol is on a drive to change learning outcomes in Sierra Leone – by providing teachers with the skills they need to support early learners from the first to third grade. Through training of trainers, her org coaches teachers in proven techniques to help children learn to read. Besides, she is also building libraries in schools and communities – to create safe dedicated spaces for learning and exploration. In the libraries supported by her org, 70% of students have borrowed a book or accessed a learning resource.
She is an education specialist with 15+ years of experience working with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and research institutes across Africa on education policy and research.
- Hannah Max-Macarthy, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Westwind Energy SL Limited
Hannah Max-Macarthy is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Westwind Energy SL Limited. With a rich background in business administration, human resources, and marketing spanning over two decades, she is backed by a wealth of experience (including ten years specifically focused on the improved cookstove industry). She lists her late mother Alarie Thomas and the pioneer of Wonder Stoves the late Haja Posseh N’Jai are two mentors who paved the way for her to have this platform today.
These stoves, proudly branded as Wonder Stoves™ – are suitable for a diverse range of cooking needs, catering to domestic, commercial, and institutional customers in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. The company’s facility boasts a manufacturing capacity of up to 8000 domestic and 100 institutional cookstoves per month. Moreover, Westwind Energy SL Limited has a workforce with 70% of them being women.
The company is committed to empowering women by providing them with opportunities to work in the energy sector. The Wonder Stoves™ are a testament to the company’s dedication to promoting sustainable energy solutions that are accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or economic status. By manufacturing energy-efficient cookstoves, Westwind Energy SL Limited is contributing to the fight against climate change and reducing the negative impact of traditional cooking methods on the environment.
- Elizabeth Adama James – Mobonde Restaurant
Elizabeth Adama James, a visionary entrepreneur has turned her restaurant into a go-to destination for food lovers, corporate clients, and community gatherings. Her restaurant Mobonde Restaurant, nestled in the heart of Freetown on King Herman Road, has become a culinary landmark, known for its exceptional food, welcoming ambience & top-notch service.
Like many businesses in the food and hospitality sector, Mobonde faced significant challenges before joining the Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project (SLEDP) like – fluctuating customer footfall, limited marketing reach, operational inefficiencies, and unreliable electricity supply hindered the restaurant’s ability to thrive. Managing costs while maintaining exceptional food quality and service was a constant struggle.
However, her determination to take her business to the next level led her to the SLEDP Technical Assistance and Matching Grant Programme – a decision that transformed Mobonde Restaurant into one of the most sought-after dining experiences in Freetown.
Revamping Operations & Elevating Customer Experience through SLEDP’s expert guidance, she refined her business strategies, learning how to streamline operations, optimize menu offerings, and enhance customer engagement. This newfound knowledge helped her reduce inefficiencies, increase profitability, and improve overall customer satisfaction.
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