From a humble local baker to factory owner, Amadu Juldeh Sowe is transforming Sierra Leone and the West African sub-region’s key consumables production industry.
“Our goal is to transition Sierra Leone from a net importer of flour to a net exporter.” Amadu Juldeh Sowe, Managing Director of BSB International Limited
The consumables commodities production industry in Sierra Leone and the subregion currently grapples with a host of challenges. These include production trends, market dynamics, and economic factors such as inflation, commodity price fluctuation, supply chain disruptions, and trade restrictions.
Notwithstanding these myriad challenges, well-meaning individuals like Amadu Juldeh Sowe (commonly called Juldeh Sowe), whose sphere of influence extends beyond his immediate community, are having a massive impact on Sierra Leone’s broader societal and developmental aspirations. And now, his resolute commitment is extending to the subregion.
Sowe’s key companies, BSB International and Sierra Leone Flour Mill, are major players in Sierra Leone’s commodities production industry. Sowe’s journey in this space started when he took over managing his family-run Brass Street Bakery business. The bakery, operated on a small scale across three generations starting with his grandfather, his father, and latterly Sowe, producing and supplying bread, Sierra Leone’s second staple food.
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Juldeh Sowe saw bread production as a business that transformed the lives of his family, fed his people, and contributed significantly to socio-economic development. Upon assuming the reins, he carried out a major restructuring of the business, assuring proper financial management, recruiting and training specialized staff, and expanding production. His business’s founding ethos is built on empowering indigenes whilst assuring sustainability within the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework. He transformed the business into a corporate entity, BSB International Limited, with effective corporate governance structures for sustainable growth in 2012.
To achieve his dream, Juldeh Sowe quickly realized that effective supply chain management was a top priority. He became a key agent of Sierra Leone Flour Mill, then run by the American multinational Seaboard Overseas and Trading Group in West Africa, the country’s sole wheat-flour producer guaranteeing consistent wheat-flour supplies. With effective quality control, marketing strategies, good storage facilities, distribution networks, and sheer determination, the businesses realized major growth to become a mainstay in the commodities sector.
In 2012, Seaboard West Africa closed down operations in Sierra Leone. Sowe leveraged his healthy revenue stream and networks developed to acquire the mill, becoming the first indigenous business to own a mill in Sierra Leone and the Mano River basin.
The business became vertically integrated, assuring effective synergies for premium bread and related production and service delivery. Not long after, however, as Sowe notes, “We were not just looking at profits, we were looking at how we can support and make our people stronger.” As a consequence, he diversified the business, initially scaling down the bakery operations until eventually closing this arm.
He has branched out into importing essential commodities, the country’s staple food, rice, sugar, and other essentials. Wheat flour and related products, however, remain a core business. Under Seaboard West Africa’s management, daily production capacity was 150 metric tons, which proved insufficient to meet domestic wheat flour demand. The solution was importation, significantly draining limited foreign currency reserves.
To guarantee sustainable growth and feed his people, he commissioned the construction of a state-of-the-art US$20 million milling facility with an impressive 600 metric tons per day production capacity in March 2023. Commissioning of the new mill, now over 90% complete, is expected in the first quarter of 2025. The opening of the mill will make it the largest in the Mano River basin.
The BSB International team gave a tour of the impressive modern milling facilities, offering a chance to observe the old and new milling facilities and production processes. The new mill, equipped with energy-efficient technologies, embodies an expansive outfit, a fundamental realignment of the country’s food production ecosystem. This is also expected to significantly transform the country’s wheat flour and related products space, reduce costs, and assure Sierra
Leone’s self-sufficiency. “When we produce in large quantities, the price will come down. Everyone will benefit; bread, flour, and other products will become more affordable,” Sowe observes.
Plans are already on course to export excess production to neighboring Guinea and Liberia, unlocking cross-border trade opportunities and transforming Sierra Leone from a net wheat flour importer to a net exporter. The new mill is also expected to aid in ameliorating unemployment through the creation of 100 new jobs, boosting the current 150 workforce.
Additionally, once the new mill becomes operational, Sowe plans to establish distribution depots across the country. The depots also create jobs and increase opportunities for transporters. This emphasis on job creation offers optimism about the country’s economic outlook, reinforcing the positive impact of Sowe’s initiatives.
This would also ensure that by-products of the milling process, such as animal feed, would be available to support the growth of the poultry industry. “Our mill dedicates 25% of production to animal feed, supporting poultry farms and agriculture, significantly growing poultry farming across the country,” says Sowe.
With 100% of locally consumed wheat flour imported, Sowe is pursuing ventures to reduce import reliance and global supply chain disruptions. Sierra Leone Flour Mill commissioned research to integrate cassava, a resilient and abundantly available local crop, into the mill’s production process. Significant progress is being made with expectations that cassava will contribute 20% of raw material in the mill’s production. Funds have also been earmarked for additional research to boost wheat flour alternatives to ensure cost-savings whilst empowering the national economy.
The strides of Sowe and his businesses have not gone unnoticed, and it came as no surprise when following commissioning the construction of the new mill, Sierra Leone Flour Mill successfully pursued engagements with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC is now providing partial financing for the new mill’s construction and additional working capital. This represents a significant milestone for an indigenous-grown business and offers hope to many Sierra Leoneans that doing the right thing and contributing to national development pays off immensely.
BSB is also collaborating with the government in its US$800 million rice cultivation initiative aimed at revamping this fledging sector. The company has commissioned an initial investment of around US$2 million with plans to upscale investment in 2025–2026.
BSB’s involvement as part of a broader strategy to promote and link industrial and agricultural growth, aims to reduce rice imports, positioning the country in the short-term as self-sufficient and, in the long run, as a major exporter. “This country has the land. If you fly over Sierra Leone, you will observe abundant arable, fertile land awaiting cultivation. Rice farming thrives in places like Torma Bum, with immense potential to feed Sierra Leone,” Sowe observes.
With the significant gains in Sierra Leone, Juldeh Sowe moved into the Guinea Bissau market, where his business is now operating a flour packaging facility. Plans are underway to commission a 300 metric tons daily production capacity in the first quarter of 2025.
“We are equally expanding our operations in the commodities space in the Republic of Guinea and Liberia, following encouraging results from market surveys conducted,” Sowe states.
Sowe’s business plays a critical role in ensuring ready access to commodities and boosting local production, aligning with the government’s “Feed Salone” project. As a result, he has, on several occasions, received support from the government of Sierra Leone, much like any other sustainable business. He notes, “When we required land for the new mill, the President supported us, to secure a fair market rate for the land within a short period. The government is supporting us with import waivers necessary for completing the mill. Additional support in ensuring regular foreign currency availability and assistance in repossessing the shed, acquired as part of SLFM assets at the port for wheat storage would significantly enhance business stability and success.”
With this growth and success, Sowe fondly states “I have to give back to my people. I see myself as a benefactor who should touch the lives of my indigent compatriots.” Records shown to us inform that over the last 20 years, Sowe and his businesses have funded over 300 scholarships annually, ensuring that young Sierra Leoneans receive quality education from primary schools to universities. Sowe also spends an average of US$100,000 annually on community programs, including critical surgeries and other healthcare as well as farming initiatives. “We have been fortunate to grow with the community. We seek to touch the lives of many so that we leave a lasting impact,” Sowe remarks.
Juldeh Sowe’s story is one of hope, growth, and transformative vision. A humble local baker with ambitions that constantly transcend the confines of traditional inward-looking business mindsets; a commitment to self-reliance and innovation to feed his nation, transform lives, and migrate his success story beyond Sierra Leone. Such immense potential and growth trajectories offer hope and expectations for Africans, providing African solutions to change their circumstances.
How far can his story go? Only time will tell. From what has been observed, however, it seems destined for continued growth and success. His parting words were, “There is so much to do, so little done.”
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