Sierra Leone Launches ARIPO Online Services Workshop to Speed Up Digital IP Reform

On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in collaboration with the Office of the Administrator and Registrar General and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), launched a country-level sensitisation workshop on ARIPO’s online services at the New Brookfields Hotel in New England, Freetown. The event brought together government officials, legal practitioners, innovators, entrepreneurs, intellectual property professionals, and other stakeholders to gain a better understanding of ARIPO’s electronic platform and to help Sierra Leone’s digital IP administration.
Madam Martina Baindu Egbenda, Sierra Leone’s Administrator and Registrar General, welcomed the ARIPO delegation and attendees, reaffirming the country’s commitment as a Member State. She described intellectual property as a strategic driver of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and economic development, emphasising that the workshop was designed to provide practical, hands-on experience with ARIPO’s e-services platform. Madam Egbenda believes that embracing digital transformation in IP administration is critical for providing more efficient, accessible, and modern services at both the national and regional levels.
ARIPO Head of ICT, Grey Njowola, delivered remarks on behalf of ARIPO Director General, Mr Bemanya Twebaze, emphasising the organisation’s support for member states’ digital modernisation. He emphasised the success of ARIPO’s e-Service platform, noting that 80 per cent of all new applications received by ARIPO in 2025 were filed online, demonstrating growing confidence in the platform’s efficiency and usability. Mr Njowola also praised Sierra Leone’s ongoing intellectual property reforms and efforts to domesticate outstanding protocols, using the occasion to reaffirm ARIPO’s commitment to deeper collaboration as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
In his keynote speech, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay Esq. described intellectual property as a key driver of economic growth, innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship. He emphasised Sierra Leone’s need to transition from consuming innovation to producing competitive, exportable innovations that contribute to the global knowledge economy. Mr Sesay highlighted recent legislative milestones, most notably the Trade Marks Registration Act, 2024, and reminded participants that Cabinet had approved the ratification of the Protocol on Intellectual Property, indicating the government’s determination to create a modern, internationally aligned IP framework.
The Attorney General also stressed that legal reform must be accompanied by administrative capacity, digital systems, and public awareness for innovators, creators, and businesses to effectively protect and commercialise their intellectual property. With these goals in mind, he declared the ARIPO Online Services Sensitisation Workshop open.
Throughout the workshop, presenters and participants discussed practical steps for integrating ARIPO’s online tools into national processes, capacity-building requirements for IP offices, and strategies for increasing adoption among local innovators and businesses. The session is part of a larger government effort to modernise intellectual property administration, strengthen institutional cooperation with ARIPO, and ensure that Sierra Leone’s IP ecosystem supports long-term economic transformation.