Located in West Africa, and bordered by Guinea and Liberia, Sierra Leone is a country that thrives on agriculture, construction, iron ore production and exports. The country is forecasting increase in investments in several other sectors such as crops, livestock and fisheries.
The country continues to face development challenges but is working with the World Bank and other development partners to fight poverty, ensure economic diversification, human capital acceleration, resilience, and competitiveness.
Organisations that expand their operations to Sierra Leone are faced with challenges to understand the local culture, norms and laws to establish their employment outsourcing initiatives. This is where Africa HR Solutions assist clients with their HR outsourcing strategy by crafting a tailored and comprehensive service, including Professional Employer Organisation (PEO), Employer of Record, payroll outsourcing among others, to fulfil all the business objectives in line with the organisation’s Sierra Leone HR outsourcing plans.
Country Profile - Sierra Leone
Population: 7.7 mn
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $3.87 bn
GDP Growth: 3.7%
Inflation: 16.9%
Foreign Direct Investment (% of GDP): 15.0%
Unemployment Rate: 4.3 %
Capital: Freetown
Currency: Sierra Leonean leone
Languages: English
Sierra Leone's Economy
Bordered by Guinea and Liberia, Sierra Leone is known as one of the poorest countries in the world. The country is reliant on the export of agricultural (palm oil, shrimp, dried fish) and mineral goods (diamonds, iron ore, and rutile), whereby the agricultural sector contributes to over 60% of GDP but is not competitive enough in the export market. The energy and transport industries are mostly controlled by the state. Sierra Leone imports mostly technology, petroleum products and food products. Macroeconomically, Sierra Leone is very much volatile, as the country’s diversification strategy is low and remains highly reliant on world market prices for minerals.
Interesting Facts About Sierra Leone
Sierra Leon’s weather is either wet or dry
The country is pretty small, with a total land area of 27,699 square miles
The country has 4 wildlife reserves, comprising of diverse wild animals and birds
Stews are very important in the country’s cuisine, with cassava leaves known as Sierra Leone’s national dish
Public Holidays in Sierra Leone
New Year’s Day
International Women’s Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Independence Day
Eid-ul-Fitr
Eid-ul-Adah
The Prophet’s Birthday
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
Christmas
Employment in Sierra Leone
In Sierra Leone, employees work 40 hours a week. They are entitled to vacation, sick and parental leaves. Probation periods usually last up to 6 months. Fixed-term agreements can last up to 12 months and are renewable. Agreements should be in a written format, detailing all information about the employee – wage, compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. All information about wages or compensation should be mentioned in the local currency, Sierra Leonean leone. Establishing an office in Sierra Leone can be a challenge and Africa HR Solutions is the go-to partner to help you with your HR outsourcing tasks, devise an attractive benefits scheme to attract the best talent to your organisation.
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