Felei TechCity

28/08/2026

Have a waste management, health tech, or other innovative solution worth showcasing? Come put it in front of members of the public, development partners, government agencies, and private sector stakeholders.

We're inviting innovators and businesses, early-stage or scaling, tackling real challenges in Sierra Leone to apply.

📅 Tuesday, 8th September 2026
📍 New Brookfields Hotel, Freetown
⏰ Apply by Wednesday, 2nd September at bit.ly/felei-spotlight

27/08/2026

Yesterday, Kroo Bay listened. Today, it built.

Following day one's problem-definition sessions at the Felei : Kroo Bay Edition, residents and innovators moved into full co-design, and by the end of today, a number of solutions had taken shape, each one developed with the community, not for it, and each one now ready to be piloted in Kroo Bay.

Some of the solutions included:
✅ Public education on plastic recycling: building community-wide awareness of how plastic waste can be sorted, reused, and turned into value.
✅ A profit model for recyclables: paying residents by weight for material collected, turning waste management into income.
✅ Start-up kits for waste collection initiatives: equipping any resident ready to launch their own collection initiative.
✅ Incentivised sorting and separation: rewarding residents for sorting waste at the source.

Each solution was presented back to residents and validated by them, with innovators playing a supporting role, not a directing one. Nothing moves forward from the Solvathon that Kroo Bay hasn't recognised as its own. This is what community innovation looks like: residents who already understood the value in their waste, paired with innovators who brought the technical depth to scale it.

Multiple solutions, one community, and a model for what happens when innovation starts by listening.

Tomorrow, the partnership continues: some residents head to a waste sorting and upcycling facility, others join a recycling masterclass, both led by the same innovators who helped shape today's solutions.

The Felei series is supported by the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project, in partnership with the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation.

26/08/2026

Today, the Felei Community Solvathon: Kroo Bay Edition opened with a simple but important first step: listening.

The Solvathon is bringing innovators, technical experts and the Kroo Bay community together to co-design practical solutions to local waste challenges, as part of a pilot. It is supported by the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project and delivered by Felei in partnership with the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation.

Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation, Salima Bah, highlighted an important point during the opening: innovation does not always have to be hi-tech. Sometimes, the most useful innovations are simple, practical ideas that respond directly to the challenges people face in their communities.

That spirit was clear throughout day one. Rather than starting with pitches or prototypes, innovators spent time with residents, listening to their experiences and understanding how waste is handled, reused and turned into value within the community.

The groups focused on a number of key waste streams - organic waste, plastics, metals and textiles - bringing together technical expertise with local knowledge and experience. Felei TechCity CEO, David E Manley also expressed his admiration for the young people taking part and the creativity and innovation they are already bringing to the space.

This is co-design, not consultation. The aim is to work with the community, build on what already exists and develop solutions that can be practical, scalable and sustainable.

Tomorrow, the teams move from listening to co-designing, turning today's insights into ideas shaped by and with the people of Kroo Bay.

Stay tuned.

17/08/2026

Attention ‼️ If you are one of the innovators who applied to take part in the Kroo Bay Community Solvathon, please check your email to see if you have been selected - and note the new dates.

Thank you to all who applied.

13/08/2026

What is a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)? And what does good actually look like? Not everyone asks that question correctly.

to the Makeni Edition in June this year, where Emily Fanday stepped into that conversation and answered it with the kind of clarity that only comes from having actually done the work.

Emily is the founder of a logistics and operations management business, and a fintech peer-to-peer and business development platform. She has taken ideas to market more than once, and it shows.

In the session, she unpacked MVPs in terms that actually land: what genuinely qualifies as one, the misconceptions that quietly derail founders before they even start, the real difference between a product MVP and a service MVP, and what "good enough" honestly looks like before you face the market.

Since launching in Freetown, the , supported by the International Trade Centre's Ready Salone Project and in partnership with the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation and KOICA, has been building something deliberate: a space where founders, investors, and ecosystem players can have the conversations that actually move things forward.

Taking that to Makeni was important. Because the circle needed to be wider, and the innovators outside the capital have always been part of this story.

12/08/2026

Today we celebrate the young Sierra Leoneans who refused to wait for permission. The coders across the country building solutions for problems only they understood. The innovators proving that talent isn't the bottleneck here, opportunity is, and they're closing that gap themselves.

This is the generation rewriting what's possible for our country. Not someday. Now.

At Felei, we exist because of them. Every programme we design, every founder we back, every door we open, it's built to remove the barriers standing between raw talent and real impact. Sierra Leone's tech future isn't something we're waiting for - it's something these young people are building, and we're honoured to build alongside them.

To every young innovator grinding in a bedroom, classroom, or an innovation lab with a laptop: Happy International Youth Day.

Keep going. Sierra Leone is watching, and the world is next.

11/08/2026

The Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation (MoCTI) has concluded a two-day National Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Public-Private Sector Dialogue aimed at strengthening Sierra Leone’s digital ecosystem and promoting inclusive digital transformation.

Held at the NaTCA Auditorium under the theme “Building Sierra Leone’s Digital Trust and Transaction Infrastructure,” the forum brought together government institutions, financial sector players, private businesses, academia, civil society, and development partners to discuss the future of Sierra Leone’s digital landscape.

Key discussions focused on three major pillars of Digital Public Infrastructure, trusted digital identity, secure digital payments, and interoperable data exchange, systems expected to improve access to services, support innovation, and enhance public sector efficiency.

Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation Salima Monorma Bah stressed that digital transformation requires strong collaboration among all stakeholders, noting that no single institution can achieve it alone.

The Bank of Sierra Leone Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Stevens, highlighted the importance of secure financial systems in building a stronger digital economy, while World Bank Country Manager Abdu Muwonge emphasized the need for trusted digital platforms that deliver real benefits to citizens.

NCRA Director General Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi described digital identity as a key foundation for inclusion and access to services, while Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to China, Dr. Abu Bakarr Karim, underscored the importance of international partnerships in advancing digital development.

Stakeholders concluded the dialogue with renewed commitment to strengthening policies, governance, and technology systems to support a secure, inclusive, and citizen-centred digital future for Sierra Leone.

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06/08/2026

Innovators in waste management, startups and entrepreneurs: the Kroo Bay Community Solvathon, in partnership with the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation and supported by the Sierra Leone Digital Transformation Project is calling you to co-design practical solutions alongside community members.

Over three days, you'll work directly with residents, technical experts and government partners to move from problems to a viable pilot that transforms waste into real economic opportunity.

This isn't about building solutions alone. It's about partnership, mentorship and empowering Kroo Bay to lead.

Visit bit.ly/felei to review the Co-Design Brief to understand your role, then apply. Applications close at 11:59pm on Sunday 16th August.

04/08/2026

03/08/2026

Last week, Felei TechCity brought Sierra Leone's startup founders and visiting investors together for an honest conversation, proudly supported by Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation, International Trade Centre and KOICA Nigeria Office as part of READY Salone's Investor Day.

Here's what happened: https://tr.ee/jOv3O4