By Miracle Media Network
New
Brookfields Hotel, New England Villa,Freetown, Sierra Leone – Tuesday, 23 June
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 Organization (ARIPO), convened an
ARIPO Online Services Sensitization Workshop at the New Brookfields Hotel, New
England, Freetown.
Welcoming
participants, the Administrator and Registrar General of Sierra Leone, Madam
Martina Baindu Egbenda, extended a warm welcome to the ARIPO delegation and
reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment as a proud Member State of ARIPO. She
underscored the importance of intellectual property as a strategic tool for
innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and economic development.
Madam
Egbenda emphasized the growing importance of digital transformation in
intellectual property administration, noting that the workshop would provide
participants with practical knowledge of ARIPO’s electronic services platform.
She stated that the initiative would contribute significantly to strengthening
efficient, accessible, and modern intellectual property service delivery in
Sierra Leone and across the region.
Delivering
remarks on behalf of ARIPO Director General, Mr. Bemanya Twebaze, ARIPO Head of
ICT, Mr. Grey Njowola, reaffirmed the Organization’s commitment to supporting
Member States through digital transformation, enhanced intellectual property
administration, and the promotion of innovation, creativity, and sustainable
economic development across Africa.
Mr.
Njowola highlighted the success of ARIPO’s e-Service platform, which has
streamlined intellectual property filing and administration processes. He
disclosed that 80 percent of all new applications received by ARIPO in 2025
were filed online, reflecting growing confidence in the platform’s efficiency,
accessibility, and user-friendly design.
He
further commended Sierra Leone for its continued commitment to intellectual
property reforms and the domestication of outstanding intellectual property
protocols. As ARIPO celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, he reaffirmed
the Organization’s commitment to deeper collaboration, stronger institutions,
and the development of a future-ready intellectual property ecosystem across
the continent.
In
his keynote address, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Alpha Sesay
Esq., described intellectual property as a critical pillar of economic
development, innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship. He emphasized that
Sierra Leone must transition from being primarily a consumer of innovation to
becoming a producer of innovation capable of competing in the global knowledge
economy.
The
Attorney General highlighted Sierra Leone’s longstanding partnership with ARIPO
and recent legislative reforms, including the enactment of the Trade Marks
Registration Act, 2024, and Cabinet’s approval of the ratification of the
Protocol on Intellectual Property. He noted that these milestones demonstrate
the Government’s commitment to building a modern, accessible, and
internationally aligned intellectual property system.
He
further stressed that legislative reforms must be complemented by
administrative capacity, digital transformation, and increased public awareness
to ensure that innovators, entrepreneurs, creators, and businesses can
effectively protect, commercialize, and benefit from their intellectual assets.
Reaffirming
the Government’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with ARIPO and
advancing intellectual property reform as part of Sierra Leone’s broader
economic transformation agenda, the Attorney General officially declared the
ARIPO Online Services Sensitization Workshop open.
The
workshop brought together government officials, legal practitioners,
innovators, entrepreneurs, intellectual property professionals, and other
stakeholders to deepen understanding of ARIPO’s digital services and strengthen
the country’s intellectual property ecosystem.