Insight Magazine Issue 1 2018

CHANGE MAKER
Anthony Navo
Junior - an
entrepreneur to
the bone
It’s been a stellar couple of years for Anthony Navo Junior. His TV
station’s ‘Sierra Leone Decides’ series became compulsory pre-election
viewing for Sierra Leoneans home and abroad. He pulled off a stunning
media coup with the Presidential Candidates’ Debate on the 15th
February. BBC Media Action has Africa Young Voices (AYV) radio down as
the most listened to radio station in the North and West of Sierra Leone,
and his media empire has won awards from AWOL and the Sierra Leone
Chamber of Commerce.
If anyone was to debate whether entrepreneurs are born or made – Anthony Navo would be almost conclusive proof of
the former. He is an entrepreneur to the bone. The ability to identify and maximise business opportunities is in his blood.
Freetown-born Navo attended the Prince of Wales School. From there he went to the UK where he studied business and
management at the University of Essex. He began his business activities early: “I have always been entrepreneurial and
started taking an interest in business straight after school,” he explains. His family’s import/export business was where
he cut his teeth – pharmaceuticals, electronic goods and milk powder - gradually taking on increasing responsibility.
He is a man who recognises the value of networks both formal and informal, and stresses that they have been important
to him throughout his career. He says: “A fair proportion of my professional and social network are people I met
during my school days.” He has been a member of the Sierra Leone Chamber of Commerce (SLCC) since 2004. He
was introduced by a man he describes as his patron – the late Alhaji Unisa ‘Awoko’ Alim Sesay, joining the Chamber of
Commerce in the same year that he opened Navo’s International Foreign Exchange Bureau Limited - which is still in
operation on Siaka Stevens St.
In the intervening 14 years, he has remained a committed and active member of the Chamber of Commerce, crediting
the organisation for having a “significant influence on his professional life,” both as a source of advice and of professional
development, by sending him on short courses and encouraging other forms of continuing professional development.
Last year, he was voted in as one of 10 council members of the SLCC and sees the role as an opportunity to give back.
The year 2007 was notable for Navo’s brief flirtation with politics. He was the Sierra Leone People’s Party’s candidate
for Constituency 104 which is also known as Freetown East 1. He lost to APC and took a couple of months out to reflect
on his future. He decided that politics was not for him and in 2008 he returned to handle communications and public
Relations for African Minerals (AML).
The company went on to give him a permanent contract and there he remained until 2014 when the company went into
liquidation. It was a challenging role which combined his local knowledge with the international acumen of Aura – AML’s
international PR agency. When Shandong took over AML, they kept Navo on as their Communications Director,
subsequently promoting him to Chief Officer – the most senior national in the country.
Perhaps his strongest driving force is his concern for youth empowerment. “I have always been a member of youth
empowerment groups. I’ve worked with students for over 15 years. I’m passionate about developing opportunities for
young people,” he says. “In 2009 the young Leaders Sierra Leone Network voted me as their youth ambassador. The
event was held at the British Council.”
He is a man who recognises the value of
networks both formal and informal, and stresses
that they have been important to him throughout
his career. He says: “A fair proportion of my
professional and social network are people I met
during my school days.”
It was this that impelled him to create a platform for young people. Africa Young Voices was the result. In May 2011, he
launched the newspaper. The radio station followed hot on its heels in November 2011 and AYV TV was launched in April
2015. AYV also has its own printing press and prints most of the country’s daily newspapers.
He explains his motivation behind the AYV conglomerate as the desire to create a platform for youth voices and for youth
skills’ development. “One of the reasons that so many young people in Sierra Leone resorted to violence and guns during
the civil war was the lack of education and opportunities. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report recommended
that an adequate voice be given to young people and women. The Government hadn’t been forthcoming in making that
happen. I saw a gap and stepped in.”
AYV is a combination of social enterprise and profit making venture. To set it up Navo took a $1.2 million loan from GT
Bank to be used for the purchase of necessary technical equipment and operating expenses. “GT Bank was the only bank
who had faith in my business idea,” he remembers. He used his house as collateral. His 10-year business plan, saw the
project as a long-term journey, with the first three years focusing on investment and the next three years beginning to
break even. His planning was spot on and he has paid off almost 90% of his loan.
He credits his success to P + P - a lesson he took to heart from a Chinese lecturer. “Preparation and planning,”
he explains. “I started planning two years prior to 2011. I was not in a rush. I did my research, employed technical
consultants, brought in the necessary expertise to get started.” He describes setting up AYV as “a herculean task”, but
adds that “planning and preparation are the key to getting where you want to be”.
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