Investing in Sierra Leone

Government securities include 91-, 182- and 364-day Treasury bills, as well as two-, three- and five-year bonds, notes and zero-coupon bonds. They are direct, unsecured and unconditional obligations of the Government of Sierra Leone. The Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) issues them and acts as fiscal agent. Treasury bills are generally offered weekly and bonds at least monthly; auction details are normally published through the three-month auction calendar at least one week in advance. Auctions typically take place on Thursday at 10:00, with bids closing at 09:00. Settlement is generally delivery-versus-payment on the same day for Treasury bills, although an undersubscribed portion may settle on T+2. Government-securities investors register in the Scripless Securities Settlement system and access auctions through a BSL-authorized Primary Dealer. Natural persons can submit one non-competitive bid per instrument and auction, with a minimum of NLe 1,000,000, bids in multiples of NLe 100,000 and a maximum of 10% of the issue. Competitive bidding is required above NLe 100,000,000, and a person or entity may submit up to three competitive bids. Bids are irrevocable. The Primary Dealer commission for primary-auction order services is paid by BSL, so the dealer generally may not charge the customer for that service; secondary-market fees follow Sierra Leone Stock Exchange rules. The Sierra Leone Stock Exchange has a regulatory framework for equities, but verified secondary-market liquidity is limited. The BSL reported that many investors hold securities until maturity. A five-year corporate bond of NLe 250 million was approved by the International Securities and Exchange Commission of Sierra Leone (ISEC) in 2025. Collective investment schemes have draft rules from 2025, but their maturity and product range remain uncertain. There is no reliable evidence of a developed local retail market for broadly diversified exchange-traded funds or locally established digital-asset investment products, so those options should not be presented as standard choices. Real and project investments include land and agribusiness, mining, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, information and communications technology, health and education. The National Investment Board (NIB) provides a One Stop Shop for registration, permits and investor aftercare and handles investment approvals, project facilitation and public-private partnership proposals. A project investment requires checks on land title, environmental obligations, sector licences, local-content rules, infrastructure, offtake arrangements, projected cash flow and the reliability of local partners. NIB incentives are conditional; examples include income-tax exemption for qualifying rice and tree-crop activities for up to 10 years and certain import or customs reliefs, subject to thresholds, ownership conditions and sector rules. Sierra Leone's National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) is a state pension fund. Its assets are managed institutionally under an investment policy and are not an individually tradable retail portfolio. Investing for retirement therefore differs from choosing securities in a personal account. Income can come from Treasury-bill discounts, bond coupons, dividends, rent or project cash flow, while value growth can come from equity, business ownership or real assets. The financial system is concentrated: BSL's 2025 Financial Stability Report recorded 13 commercial banks, with banks holding 85.7% of financial-system assets. Government securities represented 40.8% of bank assets and 62.4% of bank profits. Treasury bills with 364-day maturities represented 81.2% of government-security holdings, and commercial banks held 58.3%, creating concentration, sovereign, interest-rate and crowding-out risks. Other risks include inflation, exchange-rate changes, fiscal and debt conditions, reserves, reinvestment risk, illiquid secondary markets, bank and counterparty failure, non-performing loans, cybercrime, fraud, commodity prices, climate events, land disputes, political changes and regulatory changes. The 2025 report recorded headline inflation of 4.4% in December 2025 and a monetary policy rate of 16.8%, but current figures should be checked before committing funds. Use only entities whose ISEC status is active when dealing with securities, brokers, dealers, advisers or collective investment schemes. Review the prospectus or disclosure document, three years of audited financial statements, directors and shareholders holding at least 10%, the capital and use-of-funds plan, five-year projections and the due-diligence certificate where applicable. A promise of high guaranteed returns or no risk is a fraud signal. ISEC warned in 2025 about the unlicensed SaloneFX Pro and revoked Sherbro Wealth Advisers' licence. A bank deposit-protection arrangement does not protect against losses on securities or investment projects. The National Revenue Authority applies withholding tax to dividends and interest, but the current rate depends on the product and investor status and should be verified before a transaction. Other possible costs include brokerage, custody, banking, foreign-exchange conversion, registration, permits, legal review, due diligence, land, import and sector-licence costs. There is no verified complete central retail fee table. An approved investor may transfer net dividends, profits, loan-service payments and sale or liquidation proceeds through official channels in convertible currency, subject to foreign-exchange restrictions. Project investors must follow applicable laws and the approved business plan, submit certified financial statements within three months after the financial year, keep operational records for seven years and allow monitoring access where required.