GIZ Sierra Leone

About us

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been working in Sierra Leone since 1963. In the 1990s, its mandate was suspended due to the civil war. It took up its work again in the 2000s, and since 2010, GIZ has been represented in the country again with a regional office for Sierra Leone and Liberia in Freetown. 
Sierra Leone is a fertile land rich in mineral resources. Tourism is growing thanks to domestic and international investment. After 10 years of civil war, the economy experienced some growth starting in 2002. However, the Ebola outbreak and the collapse of raw material prices (in 2015/2016) have slowed this positive development. The economy managed to recover in the years that followed, but growth remains significantly lower than it was previously. The economy is mainly based on agriculture and the exploitation of mineral resources.
GIZ is working in Sierra Leone on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union (EU) and other donors in the following areas:
-  Employment promotion and agriculture
-  Strengthening the health care system
-  Resource management and sustainable energy access
To improve the income and employment situation in the country, and in agriculture in particular, GIZ is offering training and coaching programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises. Development partnerships with the private sector as well as market-oriented vocational training plans are available for training in manual and technical trades, in particular for the agricultural sector. In addition, the federal enterprise is advising the Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Agriculture on developing guidelines and improvements for institutional and technical capacity.
GIZ is promoting the training of solar technicians and the development of an online platform for networking various actors in the energy sector.