Role of small scale industry in employment generation and rural development, initial research results from Sierra Leone

The empirical evidence generated during the initial phase of this study has revealed that the small scale industrial sector in Sierra Leone is extensive, both in terms of the number of establishments and employment. The average size of these establishments is small, 1.9 workers per establishment and the vast majority (95 percent) are located in the rural areas. Tailoring is by far the most important activity, followed by carpentry, gara dyeing and baking. The composition of activities varies importantly by location, thus reinforcing the importance of distinguishing between industries in the urban and rural areas. Moreover, these initial results illustrated the importance of including rural small-scale industry in employment generation and rural development programs. The results generated by the study should thus prove to be of value to policy-makers charged with developing effective strategies and policies for employment generation and rural development in Sierra Leone as well as other African countries.