What: Workshop on Illicit Financial Flows and Resource-Backed Loans training and policy dialogue
Who: African Development Bank's GONAT Project; Government of Sierra Leone
When: July 8- 11, 2025
Where: The Place Resort, Freetown, Sierra Leone
The African Development Bank, and the Government of Sierra Leone, will host a four-day training workshop and policy dialogue to address illicit financial flows (IFFs) and resource-backed loans (RBLs) in the natural resources sector.
The technical training sessions, held as part of the Bank's Governing Natural Resource Outflows for Enhanced Economic Resilience (GONAT) project, will help build the capacity of Sierra Leonean government officials to effectively monitor, analyze, and govern natural resource sectors.
The training will cover:
- Definitions and frameworks for IFFs
- Key enablers, drivers, and socio-economic impacts of IFFs
- Tools for measuring IFFs and assessing associated risks
- Policy responses and legislative solutions
- Institutional capacity building and strengthening
The training will be followed by a high-level policy dialogue on July 11, bringing together policymakers, the private sector, civil society organizations, and local communities sharing knowledge and developing policy solutions.
Illicit financial flows remain a significant barrier to sustainable economic development in resource-rich African nations. This event marks a crucial step in developing the regional capacity necessary to address these challenges through coordinated responses.
GONAT aims to strengthen domestic resource mobilization and economic resilience across six African countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. The event is the second in a series that began with a successful four-day training workshop in the Central African Republic from 10 -13 June.
