Sierra Leone’s Administrator and Registrar General, Ms. Martina Baindu Egbenda, has strengthened the country’s international presence by showcasing Sierra Leone’s commitment to intellectual property (IP) reform and gender-inclusive innovation at the 2026 Women and Intellectual Property Symposium for IP Offices held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 11-13 May 2026.
The symposium, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under its Gender Action Plan, brought together representatives from member states to promote greater participation of women in intellectual property systems across the world.
Ms. Egbenda’s participation reflected the significant progress Sierra Leone has made under the administration of President Julius Maada Bio, particularly through the implementation of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act of 2022. The legislation has contributed to increased female representation in governance, with women now occupying more than 30 percent of parliamentary seats and holding key leadership positions across government and public institutions.
The symposium focused on several critical areas, including improving sex-disaggregated data collection in IP and innovation, designing inclusive policy frameworks for women innovators and entrepreneurs, expanding IP education and capacity-building opportunities for women and girls, empowering women in artificial intelligence and the digital economy, and strengthening public-private partnerships to support women-inclusive innovation ecosystems.
During the event, Ms. Egbenda held productive bilateral discussions with the Director of the WIPO Academy on strategic partnerships for Sierra Leone’s Intellectual Property Office and ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening intellectual property rights as a driver of sustainable economic growth.
Addressing delegates at the symposium, Ms. Egbenda called on WIPO to support member states with practical and ready-to-implement tools.
“I believe WIPO can help member states by providing legal and administrative templates, such as fast-track procedures for women-led applications, model IP clauses that support women entrepreneurs, and guidelines for gender-responsive IP offices,” she stated.
She further urged WIPO to collaborate with governments in integrating intellectual property into national gender strategies, STEM education plans, and entrepreneurship programmes, emphasizing that intellectual property should not be viewed as a niche legal issue limited to specialists alone.
In recent years, Sierra Leone has taken concrete steps to modernize its intellectual property framework. These efforts include plans to establish a Collective Management Organisation to strengthen copyright administration, as well as the introduction of Intellectual Property School Clubs during World Intellectual Property Day celebrations. The initiative is aimed at increasing grassroots awareness and education on intellectual property rights among young people.
Ms. Egbenda’s active participation and contributions at the symposium are expected to pave the way for enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building support from WIPO for Sierra Leone in the coming months, including future engagements in Geneva and China.