INVEST SIERRA LEONE 2016

Chaired by: Rt. Hon David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EG

5 May 2016, 8.30am-1pm

“Great opportunities and challenges beckon as we embark upon the journey towards forging a win-win partnership for our country’s enormous investment and trade potential. In a global economy, all our futures are intertwined and I look forward to forging a productive relationship with the private sectors of nations across the world,”

H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai KoromaPresident of the Republic of Sierra Leone

Invest Sierra Leone is the only annual forum dedicated to encouraging investment into Sierra Leone. It is a collaboration between Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and Freetown Insight magazine, and endorsed by the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA).

It identifies innovative approaches to investment in Sierra Leone and creates opportunities for in-depth discussion with government ministers, CEOs, financiers and the country’s most successful business and investment pioneers.

Sierra Leone: An Investor’s Guide was produced last year by Herbert Smith Freehills, Prudential and Standard Chartered and launched by President Ernest Bai Koroma at the UN International Ebola Recovery Conference held at UNHQ in New York in July 2015. The Guide provides the basis of this year’s forum and outlines the opportunities the country offers.

By H.E. Dr. Ernest Bai KoromaPresident of the Republic of Sierra Leone

In February last year, our battle against the Ebola epidemic was beginning to yield dividends, when I was asked to write the programme foreword for the inaugural Invest Sierra Leone forum which was held in the House of Commons. Several months later, as we approached victory against the virus, I contributed the foreword for Herbert Smith Freehills’ Sierra Leone: An Investor’s Guide. While the primary tragedy of the outbreak was the terrible devastation and human suffering it caused, these two initiatives, aimed at increasing investment into the country, were both reflective of the urgent need to address the catastrophic economic consequences of the epidemic and the private sector’s continuing commitment to the economic development of Sierra Leone.

Our business community has always been a critical partner for achieving Sierra Leone’s economic objectives. From my first term’s Agenda for Change, to the Agenda for Prosperity, Sierra Leone has pursued the vision of an inclusive economy, with reduced poverty and greater opportunities for all people; and before we were struck by Ebola, ours was one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Political stability and sound macroeconomic fundamentals had led to increased FDI (net inflows totaling US$2bn over 2010-14, up steeply from US$402mn on the previous five-year period.

We have now defeated the Ebola outbreak and completed the first phase of our recovery programme. This underpins our determination and ability to rediscover that economic success by strengthening entrepreneurship, by continuous economic diversification and innovation, by growing our trade relations and by upgrading our industrial sector. Already, this March, the International Monetary Fund has confirmed that “Sierra Leone’s economy is recovering from the twin shocks of the Ebola virus epidemic and the halt in iron-ore mining. Economic momentum is building again, and GDP is expected to grow by 4.3 percent this year from a contraction of 21 percent in 2015.…”

We are still not at pre - Ebola levels even though we are on course to achieve our objective of full economic recovery. But we cannot do it alone. The private sector – both national and international - has to be at the very heart of our recovery plan.

As a business man before I became President, I have direct personal experience of the workings and challenges of Sierra Leone’s business environment; and I am fully aware that creating trust in our systems and processes is key to attracting international investment and improving private sector confidence. Investors, both national and international, will want to know how we intend to improve on the favourable investment climate. Questions about the stability of foreign investments in the country, the application of the rule of law for business and the right policies to attract foreign investment without undermining internal revenue generation will beasked.

Frank and objective dialogue between the private sector and the Government of Sierra Leone is an important step in the journey forward, and independent initiatives such as Invest Sierra Leone, Freetown Insight magazine and Sierra Leone: An Investor’s Guide make an important contribution to that process.

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There have been real lessons learned about the need for economic diversification, and our priorities align with a diverse range of opportunities across various sectors – amongst them are infrastructure, health, education, agriculture, construction, electrification and ICT.

For example, only about one fifth of our 5.4 million hectares of available farmland is presently used for crop growing. Our immediate priority is to increase production and productivity, focusing on rice and cassava and cash crops such as cocoa and oil palm. Additionally, we should be able to add value to our wide range of crops by processing them in country. We are also fortunate to be home to the third largest natural harbour in the world; and our strategic location adjacent to European market shipping lanes has long made Sierra Leone a popular trading and refueling location. The Government is devising an extended programme to develop Freetown as a trans-shipment global trade hub by improving the management and renovation of the port. This will create demand for port services equipment, management expertise and rehabilitation engineering. The eco-tourism potential of our diverse landscape of islands, rivers, mountains, spectacular beaches and lush vegetation is barely tapped. Hotels, tours and other leisure gateways are exciting possibilities in a country that is only about six hours from Europe.

These are just a few of the investment possibilities we have on offer. The collaboration between Freetown Insight magazine and Herbert Smith Freehills that has resulted in an annual commitment to the Invest Sierra Leone forum will encourage potential investors to explore many more. This is a dynamic and transformational moment for Sierra Leone. Great opportunities and challenges beckon as we embark upon the journey towards forging a win-win partnership for our country’s enormous investment and trade potential. In a global economy, all our futures are intertwined and I look forward to forging a productive relationship with the private sectors of nations across the world.

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Our speakers are:• Rt. Hon David Lammy, Member of Parliament for Tottenham (chairing)

• Dr. Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Government of Sierra Leone

• Sonya Leydecker, CEO, Herbert Smith Freehills

• Gavin Williams, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills

• Daniel Hanna, Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organisations, Standard Chartered Bank

• Mr Paddy Docherty, CEO, Phoenix Africa

• Mr Tom Cairnes, Manocap Investments

• Mark Tyler, Senior Investment Banker, Nedbank Capital

• Mr Amara Kuyateh, Deputy Director General, Sierra Leone National Insurance and Social Security Trust

• Guy Warrington British High Commissioner Designate to Sierra Leone

• Karim Nasser, Chief Executive Officer, Tempus Constant Qualitas Power Ltd

• Rocco Falconer, CEO, West African Agribusiness

• Farrel Elliott, Director of Investment Promotion, Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency

agenda

08:30-09:00 Registration and breakfast

09:00 Welcome by Sonya Leydecker, CEO, Herbert Smith Freehills

Introduction by the Rt Hon David Lammy MP

09:15 — 09:45 The investment climate: strategies, challenges and the ease of doing business

Dr Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Sierra Leone

Gavin Williams, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills

Daniel Hanna, Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organisations, Standard Chartered Bank

Mark Tyler, Senior Investment Banker, Nedbank

09:45 — 10:00 Open Discussion

10:00 — 10:20 The view from the ground

Speakers:

Paddy Docherty, Chief Executive, Phoenix Africa

Karim Nasser, Chief Executive Officer, Tempus Constant Qualitas Power Ltd

Rocco Falconer, Chief Executive Officer, West African Agribusiness

10:20 — 10:40 Open Discussion

10:40 — 11:00 Investing for Impact

Tom Cairnes, Founder, Manocap

Farrel Elliot, Director of Investment Promotions, the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency

Amara Kuyateh, Deputy Director General, National Social Security and Insurance Trust

11:00 — 11:30 Open Discussion

11:30 — 11:45 Closing Remarks

12:00 — 13:00 Lunch

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Speakers’ biographiesTom Cairnes has been living and working in Sierra Leone since 2004, and is the founder of ManoCap, an impact investment firm that has been working in Sierra Leone and Liberia for the last 8 years. He is also the co-founder of the Welbodi Partnership, a health charity that supports the Ola During Children’s Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tom has worked for Lansdowne Partners, a UK based hedge fund manager focusing on UK equities, and as a management consultant for Marakon Associates in London, New York, Amsterdam and Mexico, focused primarily on the financial services sector. He holds an M.Phil in Development Studies from Cambridge University and a BA in Human Sciences from Oxford University.

Paddy Docherty has two degrees in history from Oxford University, where he also won a Blue for boxing. He was in the oil and gas corporate finance team at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London, before joining the boutique investment bank Global Union (based in Bahrain) as a Director. His work in this role included extensive business development in Africa. After leaving the Middle East, Paddy returned to PricewaterhouseCoopers to take up a role as Manager of the regional CEE and CIS energy corporate finance team, based in Prague. He left this position in 2009 to establish Phoenix Africa. Paddy was on the UK board of Millennium Promise 2010-2015 and was a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Fragile States 2012-14. He is currently also Chairman of Lion Mountains in Sierra Leone, the first Phoenix Africa business, and a Member of the Private Sector Delegation to the Committee on World Food Security at the UN FAO.

Farrel Elliott was recently appointed as the Director of Investment Promotion at the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA). He is a graduate from the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Maastricht, and holds an MBA from Aston University in the United Kingdom.

Farrel has a background in private as well as public sector work having worked in private equity, investment climate reform and private sector development with various multilateral organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, The Global Fund, The Food and Agriculture Organisation, The International Finance Corporation, The Economic Community of West African States, and the Governments of Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Gambia amongst others.

Daniel Hanna, is Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organisations Public Sector and Development Organisations at Standard Chartered Bank. He has held a number of senior positions within Standard Chartered and has worked in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. His previous roles included, co-Head of Wholesale Banking and Head of Corporate and Institutional Clients for Southern Africa, co-Head of Wholesale Banking and Head of Global Markets for Qatar and Head of Office for the Group CEO. Daniel has also worked as the regional head of research for the Middle East and South Asia where he was a regular contributor to CNBC Arabia and the BBC. He was a visiting fellow of Chatham House and has published several papers on the Middle East.

Daniel was also the lead UK Sherpa for the UK India CEO Forum, which he helped set

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up after its establishment by the British and Indian Prime Ministers in July 2010. He is also a member of the UK China Young Leaders Roundtable. Daniel also has an interest in social media and has worked in a number of different projects. Huddle, an interactive conference app, won a Webby Award (2010) and gearch.com, a non-profit environmental search engine, won the London Entrepreneur’s Challenge (2009). Daniel graduated from London Business School (MBA distinction), Exeter University and the Institute d’Etudes Politiques in Strasbourg, France.

Dr. Samura Kamara, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sierra Leone is a development Economist with extensive experience in post conflict socio-economic reconstruction, covering macroeconomic, fiscal, monetary and central banking policy analyses, decision-making, implementation and overall management. He has held several high level public offices in Sierra Leone and abroad including Central Bank Governor, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Sierra Leone,Chief Economics Officer at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, and Alternate Executive Director for Africa Constituency Group I at the International Monetary Fund. Dr. Kamara has active engagement with global policy makers and technocrats in the areas pf public sector reform, poverty eradication policy, development cooperation, diplomacy and the functioning of major multilateral organisations and financial institutions, including UN agencies, European Union, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank.

Amara Omar Kuyateh is the Deputy Director General of the Republic of Sierra Leone`s National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), Sierra Leone’s largest Pension Fund. Before NASSIT he was a Partner at Watson Rice, LLP based in New York City, and a Senior Manager at Grant Thornton, LLP. He also worked for Pricewaterhousecoopers for six years as a lead on several projects. His work experience includes direct knowledge planning and executing, audit, advisory, and audit remediation projects. Past clients include: Universal American Corporation, Arcadian Health Plan of North Carolina, Inc., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, The Social Security Administration, The Government Employees Retirement System of the Virgin Islands, US Department of Education, The United States Department of Agriculture, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rt Hon David Lammy MP was elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000. He served 9 years (2001-10) as a Minister in the last Labour government and was made a Privy Councillor in 2008. He is now an active backbench MP.

Since the last general election, David has been working on a range of issues and campaigns in Tottenham and Westminster, including campaigning for the economic regeneration of Tottenham to solve the unemployment crisis that grips the area; amending the Localism Bill to stop betting shops taking over our high streets; leading the campaign and chairing the All-Party Parliamentary Group in Parliament calling for Crossrail 2 which would see a new underground train line connecting Tottenham Hale, Seven Sisters, Alexandra palace and Turnpike Lane to Hackney, Angel, Tottenham Court Road and Victoria via a high speed rail link; fighting against the Coalitions draconian cuts to Legal Aid; chairing the all party group on Fatherhood and seeking to raise the importance of black fatherhood in the 21st Century; campaigning to stop Tottenham Hotspur from moving into the Olympic Stadium and is currently doing his best to facilitate the estimated £1 billion private sector led regeneration of Tottenham that will follow the redevelopment of White Hart Lane; campaigning for reform of the Independent Police Complaints Commission so it can respond better to deaths and serious injury that follow Police contact; campaigning for fairer and more transparent admissions systems for Oxford and Cambridge University, following the revelation at the continued lack of diversity amongst in their respective student bodies.

David is also the author of Out of the Ashes: Britain after the riots (Guardian books, published November 2011) a book about the reasons behind the 2011 riots and what has to be done to prevent them happening ever again. All author proceeds of the book

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are being donated to Tottenham-based charities. He has authored countless articles for national newspapers, including the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman and the Spectator.

Sonya Leydecker is joint chief executive officer of Herbert Smith Freehills alongside Mark Rigotti. Prior to this, Sonya headed the firm’s global dispute resolution practice for 8 years.

Sonya became a partner in the firm in 1991. She is a leading practitioner with expertise in complex cross border disputes often involving financial and professional services institutions.

Karim Nasser, Chief Executive Officer, Tempus Constant Qualitas Power Ltd, served 10 years of his career with the family owned Target Engineering Construction, executing Oil & Gas related projects values in excess of one billion US Dollars. These projects covered substation EPC contracts, refinery expansions as well as the construction of generation plants. In 2006, following the successful sale of Target Engineering Construction to Arabtec Construction, Mr. Nasser established Taahud General Contracting in his capacity as Projects Director, a civil contracting company which operates in Abu Dhabi, UAE. In 2012, Mr. Nasser founded TCQ Power Ltd, holding the position of Chief Executive Officer. He is the project lead for TCQ Power’s CEC Africa Sierra Leone Project, where he was most critically responsible for project concept development and project materialization. Mr. Nasser holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the American University of Beirut.

Mark Tyler is Senior Investment Banker at Nedbank Capital. Nedbank has been active in Sierra Leone since 2013, when it first extended $50 million in loan facilities to Sierra Rutile Ltd. It is one of the four largest South African banks, offering a full range of retail and corporate banking products in the South African market. It is a sizeable player within the continent, and has in the last four years completed over 40 transactions in 19 countries in Africa, outside SA, with a debt exposure of nearly $1billion. It is Africa’s third largest bank by Tier 1 Capital (The Banker, 2013) and in December 2008, Nedbank entered into a strategic business alliance with Ecobank in order to service our clients as they expanded across the rest of Africa. In 2014, this alliance was further deepened and consolidated when Nedbank announced the acquisition of a 20% interest in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). The Ecobank Nedbank alliance offers a ‘one bank’ experience for clients across 39 countries and over 2000 staffed outlets.

Gavin Williams is an international M&A specialist with extensive experience of cross border corporate transactions, including public company takeovers, private mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, public securities offerings, capital reconstructions and demergers. He acts for financial investors, corporates and investment banks and speaks English, French and Spanish.

In addition to his advisory work, Gavin has spent time seconded to longstanding client EDF and the investment banking legal team of a major investment bank. He has also served as General Counsel for the continental European arm of another global bank.

Clients single out Gavin for “the breadth and depth of his technical expertise and capability” and his “problem-solving skills and responsiveness”.

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