# Vignette 17: Sierra Leone's Hotline 2030
"Change the lens," urged Akinyemi Scott-Boyle, Head of Solutions Mapping at UNDP's Accelerator Lab in Sierra Leone, addressing local leaders. "See innovators as the gems that could transform your communities." In a country known for gemstones, this metaphor resonated as UNDP's Accelerator Lab set out to discover grassroots innovations across Sierra Leone.
The team trained 438 ward councilors and youth leaders across 16 districts to identify innovations in their communities. They created tools for data collection and established a toll-free "Hotline 2030" for innovators to share their work.[\[1\]](#endnote-1) Innovators reached out seeking financial support, technical guidance to improve their ideas, help with capacity building, and opportunities to collaborate. When innovators called, the Lab would record details of their solutions, then follow up with site visits to see the prototypes and conduct in-person interviews. The hotline proved especially valuable during the COVID pandemic, allowing the team to maintain connections with innovators when travel to regions wasn't possible.
At the initial stage, the team collected more than 300 solutions and documented them in an Excel database. They later transitioned to using Kobo Toolbox, which enabled them to map solutions geographically and visualize their spread across the country. This mapping revealed young people actively developing solutions across sectors, from water management to energy systems.
However, the team discovered that while ideas were abundant, innovators faced significant barriers. "The level of some prototypes was low because young people didn't have access to proper materials or modern equipment," explains Akinyemi. Many were using scrap materials, making it difficult to test or scale promising solutions. One example was a young inventor who developed a PICO hydro system for electricity but lacked resources to build it safely.
This insight led to a shift in approach. Rather than focusing on individual solutions, the team recognized the need to strengthen the entire innovation ecosystem. To decentralize support and empower young innovators across Sierra Leone, four regional innovation hubs were established in university towns outside the capital, Freetown. These hubs, managed by regional universities in the East, South, North, and North-West, provide dedicated spaces where innovators could "build, break, design and improve their prototypes."
The initiative set things in motion in the ecosystem. The team built partnerships with institutions like Limkokwing University to provide technical expertise in computer-aided design. They connected innovators with entrepreneurship support organizations to develop business skills, recognizing that success often lay in adapting solutions to local contexts. "Most ideas you've probably seen somewhere before," notes Aki, "but it's how you relate that particular solution within your context, within your community – that's where the innovation really comes in."
As word spread about the lab's work, the hotline became a main contact point for communities looking for UNDP support across the country. Meanwhile, the solutions database proved useful for more than just keeping records; it helped connect innovations with development programs throughout the organization.
The initiative also created changes in the broader innovation ecosystem. It encouraged collaboration among innovators with complementary expertise and caught the attention of other UN agencies like UNICEF and UNFPA, who started supporting innovation initiatives including investments in innovation hubs. Government officials began recognizing the potential of startups in Sierra Leone. Over time, this growing recognition led the government to develop a Digital Startup and Innovation Act.
{% hint style="info" %}
#### **Key takeaways:**
* **Create accessible channels for innovators to connect:** Provide multiple ways for innovators to reach out on their terms
* **Document systematically for multiple purposes:** Build databases that serve different needs for your organization and other ecosystem actors
* **Start simple, then evolve your documentation system:** Begin with basic tools and develop more advanced systems as new use cases and information needs emerge
* **Broker connections between innovations and programs:** Use documentation systems to actively match grassroots solutions with existing development initiatives and funding opportunities
* **Build momentum by engaging the broader ecosystem:** Celebrate grassroots innovation to attract attention from government, agencies, and institutions.
{% endhint %}
***
## Notes
1. See UNDP Sierra Leone (2020) [↑](#endnote-ref-1)
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