AYV News, November 26, 2024
The two youthful minister earlier met with the International Trade Center to discuss the implementation of a $9M four-year project titled: ‘Empowering Youth through Digital Technologies’ (2024-2028), an initiative aimed to enhance youth participation in the digital economy, focusing particularly on young women.
The overall project objective is to contribute to economic growth and job creation in Sierra Leone by enhancing the participation of youth in the digital economy.
The outcome of the project is to increase the participation of youth in digital trade and its expected outputs and indicatorswill be achieved through the following 4 outputs: ‘Capacity of youth to use digital technologies for work, entrepreneurship and social inclusion increased (targets youth, with particular focus on young women); Competitiveness of young entrepreneurs increased by adopting digital technologies (targets young entrepreneurs, particularly young women entrepreneurs); Youth Service offerings of Business Support Organizations (BSOs) and tech hubs improved (BSOs, incubators and NGOs are key delivery partners for the project. Enabling them to deliver better services to youth, will help to generate sustainable, long-term impact); and finally, Inclusive national strategies and policies related to the digital economy strengthened Cross cutting issues: digitalisation, youth and gender considerations are key’.
It opens opportunities for youth, especially women, through digital technologies is the core objective of the project and all outputs will be implemented in partnership with local public, private and civil society organisations, building up on their respective local expertise, networks and infrastructure.
Minister Mohamed Orman Bangura is Minister of Youth Affairs. Raised in a humble background by his illiterate mother, following his father’s death when he was just a toddler, he faced significant challenges during his childhood, undertaking various jobs including a tailoring apprentice and a trader at the Bo central market. Despite these hardships, he demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination, eventually overcoming obstacles that included a temporary school dropout.
Bangura received his primary education at TDEC Primary School in Magburaka and later, through self-study, passed the WASSCE, gaining admission to Fourah Bay College, where he graduated with a degree in Accounting and Finance in 2010. His professional career has involved key roles in the banking and mining sectors.
He began as a Compliance Officer at Standard Chartered Bank (2010-2011) before working as an Accountant at London Mining Plc (2011-2013). He then served as Finance and Admin Manager at Total Global Steel Company Ltd (2015-2016).
Following the end of the Ebola outbreak in early 2016, he joined eHealth Africa as Chief Accountant until he was appointed Minister of Youth Affairs by President Julius Maada Bio in May 2018. His journey from a challenging upbringing to a prominent leadership position reflects his perseverance and commitment to improving the lives of young people in Sierra Leone.
Minister Salima Monorma Bah is Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation in Sierra Leone. As a cabinet minister, Ms. Bah’s mandate includes leading the government’s digital transformation agenda as well as the country’s digital economy and innovation entrepreneurship strategic development while also supervising the telecommunication sector.
Ms. Bah is most passionate about the potential of technology and innovation to accelerate the national development of developing countries and prior to her appointment she led the design, development, and implementation of such programs as the Head of Project Coordination at the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation in Sierra Leone.
Ms. Bah holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom as well as a Master of Law from Columbia Law School In the United States.
