By Web Admin 
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, May 25, 2026
A Guinean mining entrepreneur who runs Kambia Bauxite Mine has told Awoko Newspaper during the Sierra Leone Mining Week that Sierra Leone can only transform its economy by backing local business leaders — a strategy he says Guinea is already pursuing despite inherited challenges.
Sonny Doumbouya, who acquired the Kambia Bauxite Mine at the end of 2022, described how Guinea’s government has moved to place nationals at the forefront of the mining sector. “Guinea right now has embarked itself into creating local champions, although it’s really challenging,” he said, noting that previous administrations had handed many high‑value permits to foreign firms from China, India, and Russia. “The government is trying to revise legislation…to see how they could best go about putting in the forefront Guineans.”
Doumbouya credited the current Guinean government for facilitating his takeover and for administrative and logistical support that has helped the company scale. “They really helped me to actually get through the whole process, and then to approve the takeover of this company,” he said. “They are facilitating for me to have access to those to be able to prosper.”
Drawing a direct lesson for Sierra Leone, Doumbouya argued the country should identify and support a handful of local entrepreneurs across sectors — mining, agriculture, energy, and finance — and use government guarantees to unlock commercial bank financing. “First, you need to attract investment, you need to give them confidence, then you give them security, and after which they also need to put in place what’s called a program of creating wealth,” he said. “Identify five to 10 people who can operate in different sectors…we would like for you to give them a chance to finance them, and the government will give this guarantee.”
He warned that the government cannot single‑handedly change citizens’ lives through taxes and royalties from foreign investors. “Investors come and invest, and they take 80% of what they invest, leaving 20% in tax and royalties,” he said. “What can change the life of every single Sierra Leonean is the private sector, and when we talk about the private sector, is putting Sierra Leoneans in the driving seat.”
Doumbouya also discussed his firm’s operations in Guinea and his plans for Sierra Leone. Kambia Bauxite Mine, renamed in homage to his late father’s birthplace, Kambia located in Sierra Leone, operates a fully local workforce in Guinea: “We have over 422 Guineans working directly on the mine site, and all 100% Guinea, no foreign at all,” he said. He added that nearly all subcontractors are Guinean and that the company prioritises training local employees. Production reached 3.4 million tonnes in its first year of operation, with a target of 5 million tonnes this year and potential to exceed that figure.
On plans in Sierra Leone, Doumbouya said his team has begun the licensing process for an exploration bauxite license and has engaged local actors in Kambia district.
Doumbouya framed his ambitions as both commercial and nationalistic. Born to a family from Kambia, he said renaming his company reflected his attachment to the cross‑border region and his belief that Sierra Leoneans should lead their country’s development. “Nobody can develop Sierra Leone more than Sierra Leonean themselves,” he said.
As Sierra Leone seeks to expand its mining sector, Doumbouya’s proposal highlights two tensions for policymakers: how to attract and secure foreign investment while deliberately promoting national entrepreneurs and how to design guarantees, training programmes, and regulatory reforms that both protect national interests and preserve investor confidence.
Sierra Leone Mining Week 2026 convened government officials, investors, and industry players at the Freetown International Conference Centre, offering a platform for these debates as the country chases new revenue streams and jobs from its mineral endowment.