Quarterly Newsletter – May 2025

This issue is a round-up of Invest Salone’s recent work on sustainable finance, inclusive policy dialogue and the creative industries. It includes insights on Sierra Leone’s first local currency corporate bond, highlights from International Women’s Day activities, updates from the Fashion Design and Textile Association’s first symposium and the launch of a new working group on Sustainable Finance Principles.

Topic: Financial instruments for business, Gender equality and social inclusion, Government and policy, Sustainable business
Sector: Fashion, Finance, Textiles
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Related Resources

Building a Coalition for Catalytic Capital – Invest Salone Showcase, January 2026

Key government and private‑sector leaders gathered on Friday, 16 January 2026, as Invest Salone, a UK-funded private sector  development programme, hosted a high‑level event aimed at deepening collaboration and boosting investment in Sierra Leone’s expanding private sector. The event showcased Invest Salone’s contribution to improving the business environment and reinforced its role as a partner and facilitator, bringing together diverse stakeholders to address systemic constraints through dialogue and cooperation.

Topic: Entrepreneurship and innovation, Finance, Financial instruments for business, Investment, Investment and export promotion
Sector: Business, Finance, Investment, Manufacturing
Geographic Focus: Sierra Leone
Published by: Invest Salone
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Sierra Leone voluntary sustainable finance principles: Sector-level guidance for financial institutions

This sector-level guidance supports financial institutions with the implementation of the voluntary sustainable finance principles. It is tailored for a diverse range of financial institutions – from microfinance lenders to larger commercial banks – and focuses on the “everyday” business of banking with micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sierra Leone, covering the key sectors: agriculture, fisheries and forestry; construction; energy and energy efficiency; and value chains (e.g. manufacturing and wholesale/retail trade).

Topic: ESG, Finance, Sustainable business, Sustainable finance
Sector: Finance
Geographic Focus: Sierra Leone
Published by: Invest Salone
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Finance that Fits: How Small Foundation, Vista Bank and Invest Salone partnered to transform lending for small businesses

Find out how a partnership between Invest Salone, Vista Bank Sierra Leone and the Small Foundation is shifting the bank’s portfolio toward lending to SMEs by strengthening credit assessment tools and improving sector knowledge, with support from a risk-sharing guarantee.

Topic: Finance, Financial instruments for business
Sector: Business, Finance
Geographic Focus: Sierra Leone
Published by: Invest Salone
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