The University of Makeni (UNIMAK) marked a transformative moment in its academic journey with the official launch of the SLEEK project, Sierra Leone Education in Entrepreneurial Pedagogy and Skills, at the university’s auditorium in Makeni, on June 20, 2025. The event drew staff and students from all three campuses in Makeni, with strong representation from all seven faculties.
With the theme: “Empowering Education, Cultivating Entrepreneurs,” the launch signaled UNIMAK’s commitment to equipping students with practical entrepreneurial skills designed to foster innovation and job creation. Development Studies Year 3 student, Nabie Musa, expressed hope that SLEEK will empower students to become successful entrepreneurs after graduation. “This will help eradicate poverty in Sierra Leone,” she remarked.
This marks the first time the SLEEK project has been officially introduced into the UNIMAK academic environment. The project is led by Sheffield University Associate Professor, Dr. Samppa Kamara, who conceptualized SLEEK in 2022. He explained that the project is about “empowering job creators through pedagogy and learning, cultivating entrepreneurship and embracing Sierra Leone’s local resources.”
UNIMAK’s SLEEK Coordinator, Peter Lansana, described the program as an inclusive entrepreneurship initiative designed to prepare students to become job creators before leaving university. “Today’s gathering is more than the unveiling of a project. It is a bold declaration that Sierra Leone’s higher education institutions are stepping into a new era of relevance, resilience and responsiveness,” Peter Lansana said. “UNIMAK, as a pioneering entrepreneurial university, is proud to be at the heart of that transition.”
SLEEK aligns with the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education programme and seeks to tackle systemic educational challenges such as outdated curricula, low graduate employability and weak academia-industry linkages. Through educator training, Entrepreneurship Academies and locally relevant pedagogical tools, the project aims to redefine learning to be more applied, inclusive and entrepreneurial.
Peter Lansana emphasized that the project, which officially began in January 2025, will focus on upskilling educators, empowering youth and women and strengthening UNIMAK’s business partnerships. “This launch is not just about institutional development,” he said. “It’s about unlocking opportunities for thousands of students and community entrepreneurs, especially women and youth, across Sierra Leone.”
Ann Njehu, a member of the SLEEK project team, reiterated that SLEEK is dedicated to developing a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sierra Leone. “This is more than just a launch. It’s a call to action, a vision for a more empowered academic environment and a platform to shape the future of education in our university,” she said. Ann Njehu also emphasized that the program will help increase entrepreneurial output and job creation by equipping educators with a comprehensive, innovation-focused pedagogy.
The project is fully aligned with UNIMAK’s strategic vision to become a leading entrepreneurial university in Sierra Leone.
The official launch was performed by University Registrar Foday Augustine Bangura, who welcomed guests, staff and students. “Today marks a new chapter for stronger higher education, focused on producing entrepreneurial graduates who will foster job creation,” Foday Augustine Bangura said. He described SLEEK as a timely intervention that addresses key educational shortcomings while building an entrepreneurial academy aimed at empowering young people with practical business skills.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Innovation Sierra Leone, Francis Stevens George, encouraged students to become job creators. “Jobs are not enough in Sierra Leone, so please be job creators,” he urged. “We need an ecosystem that is responsive to your aspirations. People living abroad are not smarter than students in Sierra Leone; they just operate in systems that support business innovation.”
UNIMAK is also planning to launch a Pitch Night in the coming months, where students with strong business ideas will have the opportunity to present and possibly secure funding and mentorship.
With the launch of SLEEK, UNIMAK has positioned itself at the forefront of a national movement to reshape higher education and build a generation of entrepreneurs ready to transform Sierra Leone’s economy.
