• Sierra Leone partners with Qhala to integrate AI in government

• 500 civil servants to train; 10-15 AI workflows planned

• National AI readiness study launched with World Bank support

As it struggles with major development challenges, Sierra Leone is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to modernize public services and boost its international profile.

The country ranks 172nd out of 193 in the United Nations 2024 E-Government Development Index, with a score of 0.3042.

To close this gap, Sierra Leone signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qhala, a Nairobi-based digital transformation firm, during the 80th UN General Assembly.

 The partnership will train civil servants to apply AI in their daily work , improving efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery.

The program’s first phase targets 500 trainees and the creation of 10–15 AI-driven workflows in government operations. The goal is to build digital capacity in the civil service and embed AI into public administration to speed up and improve service quality.

In a related move, the government on October 2 launched a National AI Readiness Assessment with support from the World Bank. The study will evaluate infrastructure, human capital, and regulation needed for AI adoption in key sectors such as health, education, agriculture, energy, and security.

 Preliminary results will help identify priorities and guide Sierra Leone’s AI strategy. Both initiatives are part of a wider push to make government more efficient and responsive. By integrating AI into public institutions and critical sectors, Sierra Leone hopes to address chronic inefficiency, processing delays, and limited data use.

Officials see AI , with its capacity to process vast data sets , as a potential engine of development, improving coordination across sectors and promoting more inclusive, data-informed governance.

Samira Njoya