Sierra Leone’s Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Salima Bah, has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to making internet access a basic human right while positioning the country as a leading hub for technology and innovation in West Africa.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ganiu Oloruntade, Senior Editor at TechCabal, Salima Bah highlighted the rapid strides the country has made since the creation of her Ministry, which was less than two years old when she first spoke to TechCabal in July 2025. At the time, Sierra Leone’s ambitions were still largely on paper. Today, the Government has invested more than $132 million in technology and innovation, focusing on policy, infrastructure and funding projects such as the Universal Access Development Fund. Internet usage has surged from 1.84 million users in early 2023 to 2.32 million in 2025 and in June, Sierra Leone unveiled West Africa’s first open-access standalone 5G network.

“You can’t talk about technology or innovation if your infrastructure isn’t there,” Salima Bah noted. “But you also can’t use setting up as an excuse not to deliver. That’s why we’ve been rolling out and implementing initiatives simultaneously.”

Under Salima Bah’s leadership, the Ministry has overseen a 75% increase in fibre backbone penetration and a massive upgrade in international bandwidth capacity since 2018. Through partnerships with neighbouring countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone has strengthened internet resilience and redundancy while nearly doubling rural mobile sites. One of the most significant moves was the controversial decision to privatize the undersea fibre cable, formerly managed by SALCAB. The move, though initially unpopular, has paid off; capacity has increased from 90Gbps to over 500Gbps and the private partner has introduced professional standards and expanded infrastructure, including Freetown’s metro network and the launch of OneMobile, a data-only 5G network.

“We’ve been vindicated,” Salima Bah said. “It’s a testament to our policies that we’ve been able to sustain three and now a fourth mobile operator for a population of eight million.”

For Salima Bah, the Government’s tech vision goes beyond infrastructure. The Universal Access Development Fund is helping connect underserved rural areas where private investment alone isn’t feasible. “Access to mobile and internet services should no longer be seen as a privilege. Internet access should be a basic human right,” she stressed. “Regardless of whether citizens are in urban centres or remote areas they must have access to mobile and internet services.”

Salima Bah revealed that impact is measured not just by the number of people connected but by downstream effects on education, healthcare, agriculture and social services. “We ask: what changed after access was introduced? Are healthcare workers using the internet to do research or farmers leveraging e-commerce platforms? That’s the impact we want to see.”

Central to Sierra Leone’s digital ambition is the development of Felei Tech City, designed to attract private sector investment and foster a thriving ecosystem for startups and innovators. Construction is slated to begin this year, with funding secured through a partnership with the African Development Bank. The project draws inspiration from Kigali Innovation City and Kenya’s Konza Technopolis but is being tailored to Sierra Leone’s unique economic and social context.

“The idea is not just about infrastructure and buildings. It’s about creating an ecosystem,” Salima Bah explained. “We want the private sector and local players to feel ownership of the space from the very beginning.”

The Government has also hosted two annual national tech summits to bring together key stakeholders, foster strategic conversations and drive ecosystem growth. Sierra Leone recently hosted the regional Startup World Cup for the first time, with a local startup winning the competition to represent West Africa in Silicon Valley.

Recognizing that innovation depends on people, Salima Bah emphasized the need to build Sierra Leone’s technical talent pipeline. The Ministry has introduced digital skills assessments, hosted job fairs and expanded tech-focused education at all levels, from primary schools to tertiary institutions. There has also been a rise in self-taught talent, with many professionals transitioning to careers in software development and data science.

“We’re focusing on five key skill sets where Sierra Leone can be globally competitive,” Salima Bah said. “We want to invest heavily so that when someone thinks of hiring great data scientists, they think of Sierra Leone.”

The Government is also digitizing public services with initiatives like WanGov, a single platform for all Government services and the HR Hub, which is transforming how the public sector manages personnel and processes. “Our job is to deliver efficient services for people, whether it’s passports or birth certificates. Improving the public sector is foundational to national development,” Salima Bah stated.

On artificial intelligence, Sierra Leone is conducting an AI Readiness Assessment covering infrastructure, policy, data governance and talent. The country is working with the World Bank and MIT to develop AI-driven solutions and training programs for public sector workers. “We believe AI can be a game-changer but we must ensure we are part of the global conversation and that solutions include our data,” Salima Bah said.

With record investments, cutting-edge infrastructure and a strong policy framework, Sierra Leone is making bold moves to transform its digital landscape. But for Salima Bah, the ultimate goal remains clear: “We don’t want to just consume technology; we want to develop our own solutions and be part of global innovation. That’s the only way to secure our future.”

  https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/minister-salima-bah-access-to-internet-should-be-a-basic-human-right-in-sierra-leones-tech-vision/