Orange Sierra Leone Deepens Media Collaboration at 2026 Annual Engagement
By Foday Moriba Conteh
Orange Sierra Leone on 6th February 2026 hosted its Annual Media Engagement at the Orange Digital Center, Hill Station, Freetown, bringing together over 100 journalists, editors, regulators, and key stakeholders. The event provided a platform to review the company’s 2025 performance, outline priorities for 2026, and strengthen partnerships with the media under the theme: “Connecting with the Media, Sharing Our Story.”
The engagement highlighted Orange Sierra Leone’s commitment to transparency, collaboration, and open dialogue, showcasing achievements in network expansion, digital inclusion, and social impact initiatives.
President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Manika Kamara, lauded Orange as one of the media’s most consistent corporate partners. She emphasized that the partnership is rooted in trust, shared democratic values, and long-term investment in media professionalism.
Kamara highlighted Orange’s support for SLAJ initiatives, including governance processes, capacity building, scholarships for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral studies, and national journalism awards. She described these interventions as strategic contributions to ethical journalism and media excellence.
“Partnerships come with expectations,” Kamara reminded journalists. “Ethical reporting, fact-checking, and accountability must remain at the core of our work.” She also stressed journalist safety, innovation, and empowerment of young and female reporters as key priorities for SLAJ.
Executive Secretary of the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Khalil Kallon, commended Orange for fostering collaboration among regulators, service providers, government, and the media. He urged greater support for community radio stations, particularly in rural areas, emphasizing that media support should be viewed as an investment in a healthy information ecosystem.
Chief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone, Madam Aicha Toure, underscored the media’s role in shaping national dialogue, accountability, and democracy. She outlined three priorities for her leadership: network experience and reliability, digital inclusion, and trust with responsibility.
Madam Toure highlighted investments in fibre expansion, data centres, and international connectivity, stressing that digital infrastructure must translate into opportunities in education, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and public services. She also reaffirmed Orange’s commitment to ethics, transparency, cybersecurity, and data protection, pledging to expand social impact initiatives in education, digital skills, environmental sustainability, and community development.
Minister of Information and Civic Education, Chernor Bah, in his keynote address, commended Orange for expanding digital connectivity, even in remote areas, noting nearly 100 percent 3G coverage and over 90 percent 4G coverage nationwide. He called on journalists to uphold professionalism, fact-checking, and responsible storytelling, particularly ahead of the 2027 elections, while recognizing the growing influence of bloggers and digital content creators.
The engagement concluded with presentations on Orange Sierra Leone’s corporate performance and social impact, followed by interactive discussions between journalists, stakeholders, and company leadership—reinforcing the company’s vision of collaboration, transparency, and shared progress
