Develop Africa is committed to helping fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — the 17 global goals adopted in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Since 2006, our work in Sierra Leone has been aligned with the principle that lasting change requires investment in people — their education, their skills, their health, and their economic opportunity.

Through scholarships, school supplies, digital skills training, vocational support, mentoring, health interventions, and community infrastructure, Develop Africa directly advances multiple SDGs in one of the world's most underserved countries. Below are the goals most directly reflected in our current programs.

Learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1 — No Poverty

Ending poverty requires more than emergency relief — it requires sustained investment in the capacity of individuals and families to build their own futures. Develop Africa addresses poverty at its roots through education, vocational training, and economic opportunity. When a student receives a scholarship, completes a computer training course, or launches a small business with vocational skills, they are not just escaping poverty — they are building the foundation for a self-reliant life. Since 2006, Develop Africa has deployed over $3.3 million in direct support to individuals and families in Sierra Leone.

SDG 2 — Zero Hunger

Food insecurity is a direct barrier to education in Sierra Leone. A child who arrives at school hungry cannot learn. Develop Africa provides essential food support — including rice, cooking oil, and other staples — to families facing acute food insecurity, helping to stabilize household conditions so that children can remain in school and parents can focus on their children's futures rather than their next meal.

SDG 3 — Good Health and Well-Being

Malaria remains one of the most significant public health threats in Sierra Leone, particularly for children. Develop Africa provides insecticide-treated bed nets to families in need, protecting children while they sleep and reducing the school absences and healthcare costs that malaria causes. Our mentoring program also supports the mental and emotional well-being of youth — providing a trusted space for young people to develop resilience, process challenges, and build healthy life skills.

SDG 4 — Quality Education

Quality education is the foundation of everything Develop Africa does. Access to education in Sierra Leone is blocked by financial hardship, lack of supplies, insufficient infrastructure, and the particular barriers facing girls. We work to remove each of these obstacles — one student at a time.

Since 2006, Develop Africa has awarded more than 1,260 scholarships, provided school supplies to over 124,700 children, equipped classrooms and computer labs, and partnered with local organizations to build and expand school facilities. In 2024, we completed construction of a three-room nursery school in Kamawornie. In 2026, we partnered with the Pa Karim Memorial Foundation to open the Mama Gbessay Memorial Junior Secondary School in Magbakoli Village — serving nine communities and over 1,500 future students.

Read more about our educational programs

SDG 5 — Gender Equality

Boys historically receive preferential access to educational opportunities in Sierra Leone. Early marriage, economic pressure, and cultural expectations push girls out of school before they have the chance to reach their potential. Develop Africa prioritizes girls' education through targeted scholarships, mentoring sessions launched in 2021, computer training at the FAWE All-Girls Lab serving approximately 130 girls, and sponsorship of female students into vocational training programs.

When a girl stays in school, she is more likely to delay marriage, earn an income, and invest that income back into her children — creating a generational multiplier effect that reaches far beyond one student. Read more about our girls' empowerment programs.

SDG 7 — Affordable and Clean Energy

Access to reliable energy is essential for education and economic participation — yet less than 10% of homes in Sierra Leone have electricity. Develop Africa is addressing this gap through a solar energy installation at the DASL Computer Lab in Freetown, providing clean, reliable, grid-independent power to our primary learning facility. This investment ensures that computer training and digital skills programs can operate without interruption, regardless of grid availability, and models the kind of sustainable energy infrastructure that learning centers across Sierra Leone need.

SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth

Develop Africa builds the workforce readiness of Sierra Leone's youth and professionals through digital skills training, vocational sponsorship, and entrepreneurship support. Computer literacy and AI literacy programs equip graduates for employment across education, banking, government, and NGO sectors. Vocational sponsorships — covering training fees and startup kits — help young women launch small businesses in cosmetology, tailoring, and other trades. Each graduate who enters the workforce or starts a business contributes directly to local economic growth and reduces dependence on limited formal employment markets.

SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities

The digital divide, the gender gap in education, and the financial barriers to schooling are all forms of inequality that compound across generations. Develop Africa works to reduce each of these gaps in Sierra Leone — through scholarships that make education accessible regardless of family income, computer training that bridges the digital divide, girls' programming that counters gender-based educational exclusion, and community school construction that brings quality education to villages previously beyond reach.

SDG 17 — Partnerships for the Goals

No single organization can achieve the SDGs alone. Develop Africa advances its mission through a network of strategic partnerships — with GlobalGiving, local Sierra Leonean organizations, corporate partners, diaspora donors, foundations, and community leaders on the ground. Our partnership model ensures programs are locally owned, culturally grounded, and positioned for sustainability beyond our direct involvement. Together, these partnerships multiply our impact and extend our reach far beyond what Develop Africa could accomplish working alone.

Learn more about our partners

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/