By: Saidu Jalloh
Sierra Leone’s Administrator and Registrar General, Martina Baindu Egbenda, has called for stronger global support for women-led innovation and gender-responsive intellectual property (IP) systems during the 2026 Women and IP Symposium for IP Offices held in Geneva, Switzerland.
The symposium, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under its Gender Action Plan, brought together representatives from member states from 11 to 13 May 2026 to discuss strategies aimed at increasing women’s participation in intellectual property systems worldwide.
Speaking at the forum, Ms. Egbenda urged WIPO to provide member states with practical legal and administrative tools to support women entrepreneurs and innovators. She noted that such interventions would help countries develop more inclusive and accessible intellectual property systems.
“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 emphasized the need for governments and development partners to integrate intellectual property issues into national gender policies, STEM education programmes, and entrepreneurship initiatives. According to her, intellectual property should not be viewed solely as a specialized legal field but as an important driver of innovation and economic empowerment.
According to the symposium organizers, discussions focused on improving sex-disaggregated data within innovation and IP systems, strengthening policy frameworks for women innovators, promoting IP education for women and girls, and supporting women’s participation in artificial intelligence and the digital economy.
During the symposium, Ms. Egbenda also held bilateral discussions with the Director of the WIPO Academy on possible strategic partnerships and reforms aimed at strengthening Sierra Leone’s intellectual property framework. Sources at the meeting disclosed that the discussions centred on technical cooperation and capacity-building opportunities for Sierra Leone’s IP office.
Her participation in the symposium comes amid ongoing reforms in Sierra Leone’s intellectual property sector under the administration of President Julius Maada Bio. Government initiatives include efforts to establish a Collective Management Organisation to improve copyright administration, as well as the introduction of Intellectual Property School Clubs aimed at increasing awareness of IP rights among young people.
Officials noted that Ms. Egbenda’s engagement at the international forum is expected to strengthen collaboration between Sierra Leone and WIPO, particularly in the areas of technical assistance, institutional capacity building, and future international engagements in China and Geneva.