AYV News, June 9, 2025
Mohamed Samu has been crowned winner and awardee of His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio’s Innovation Award 2025 of $30,000. Samu works on Insect-Based Organic Fertiliser, converting waste into high-protein animal feed and organic fertiliser using black soldier flies.
Also, Oswald Tech (Water Light) – Generating clean electricity from seawater to power off-grid communities is 1st Runner-up and took home $20,000, while Cassavity SL Ltd – Producing cassava flour to cut import dependency and reduce post-harvest losses is 2nd Runner-up, who took home $10,000.
The Summit congratulated the top 5 finalists of the 2025 Big 5 Innovation Investment Challenge, tackling different things within the Big Five Game Chargers, from food security to clean energy: Solar Agric – Offering solar-powered crop drying and storage to reduce food waste; Cross-Border Blockchain Payments via WhatsApp – Making financial inclusion a reality through seamless, low-cost international transactions.
Thanks to KOICA and the ITC Ready Salone Project, all five finalists will travel to South Korea for a global exposure visit.
Sierra Leone is investing in ideas that solve real problems.
The Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovationhosted the 2025 Sierra Leone Innovates: Digital Government Summit at the Freetown International Conference Centre (Bintumani) in Freetown.
The three-day Summit ended on Saturday, 7th June, 2025, on the theme: ‘5+ Years of NIDS: Building the Skills to Drive Sustainable Economic Growth and National Development’.
The Summit featured keynote speeches, live demos of digital platforms, TED-style talks, fireside chats, and policy panels with key partners, expert-led digital skills masterclasses, and the Tech Job Fair, featuring CV clinics, portfolio reviews, on-the-spot interviews, and employer booths.
It connected certified youth to real opportunities within Sierra Leone’s growing digital workforce.
