According to a 2026 World Bank report drawing on Liberia’s 2025 Enterprise Survey, the private sector is struggling. Most Liberians work outside the formal system, with 87% laboring for unregistered businesses and family-owned farms.
At formal firms, business sales growth declined from 27.3% to 7.9% between 2017 and 2025. Job growth also declined in those years, dropping from 19.8% to 8.9%.
Although 50.9% of Liberians lived below the national poverty line in 2016, the World Bank reports that poverty has been declining since 2022.
Expanding stable employment through a stronger private sector will be key to sustaining that progress and helping more Liberians move out of poverty, which is why programs like Growth Accelerator Liberia matter for supporting business growth.
Launched in 2021, Growth Accelerator Liberia helps micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) develop by offering mentorship opportunities and co-financing grants.
So far, the program has put more than $1.7 million into 92 enterprises across Liberia, and more than 110 local businesses have received the direct support and training needed to flourish.
These efforts have resulted in stronger businesses that can create more jobs with steadier incomes and a diversified economy, helping more Liberians support their families and build lasting financial security for themselves and their communities.
Edana Photography
Edmond Lloyd founded Edana Photography, which was among the winners in the first and second cohorts of the Growth Accelerator Liberia program, securing a $40,000 grant in 2021. This support, which came with one-on-one training, helped the business take a major step forward in its development. In 2022, alongside Wungko’s Farm, Edana Photography used the grant to hire 15 full-time workers and 20 contractors, split almost evenly between men and women, for a total of 35 new jobs.
Today, Growth Accelerator Liberia has helped Edana Photography grow into a full-service creative company. The business offers photography and videography services, and it even publishes a cultural magazine named Edana Magazine. By capturing events like weddings and the natural beauty of its models, Edana Photography presents Liberia and its people in a positive and uplifting light. This goal has led to more job opportunities in the creative sector, a source of pride that helps Liberian communities see a future beyond daily struggle.
Wungko’s Farm
Like Edana Photography, Wungko’s Farm was also a winner in the first cohort of the Growth Accelerator Liberia program and received a $40,000 grant in 2021.
Run by founder and CEO Paul Sackie Wungko, Wungko’s Farm is a regenerative agriculture farm based in Salala, Bong County, that grows vegetables and raises livestock using sustainable methods like composting and greenhouse farming. The farm aims to provide work for 50 small-scale farmers, with a focus on women, often marginalized in the professional world, and young people who wish to learn about agricultural sustainability. It also hopes to create 145 jobs for suppliers who provide farm resources such as seeds and tools.
In addition, Wungko’s Farm offers 10 participants ages 18 to 25 the chance to take part in an agripreneurship summer program that teaches them various skills in smart agriculture, such as pig and poultry farming, greenhouse technology and organic fertilizer production. Participants are paid a stipend while learning these skills, preparing them for a career in the agricultural field.
Farming is the backbone of Liberia’s economy, and Wungko’s Farm is helping keep the economy stable by creating jobs and training young people. Its modern agricultural practices are helping farming remain a lasting source of income and food for millions in need for years to come.
Mako’s Fruits
Mako’s Fruits was among eight businesses from the first two Growth Accelerator Liberia cohorts that earned $80,500 in extra sales thanks to the program’s grant funding and training. As a result, the business has grown in the following years, reaching more customers around Liberia.
Mako’s Fruits was launched in 2020 by Mariam Mako Meiplay, who wanted to provide fresh, healthy food options to her community. The business serves all things fruit, including juices, smoothies and fruit arrangements.
Though Meiplay faced numerous challenges as a female entrepreneur, she pushed forward and built a successful business.
Mako’s Fruits creates more jobs in the food industry while also supporting local farmers by sourcing fresh ingredients. The business demonstrates how women can build successful enterprises capable of strengthening the local economy.
A Path Toward a Better Future
The stories of Edana Photography, Wungko’s Farm and Mako’s Fruits show that business-development support works. As MSMEs receive funding and learn effective business strategies, they grow, and as they grow, they hire more people, strengthening the broader economy. Growth Accelerator Liberia has shown that each business that receives support and succeeds helps reduce the number of people working informal jobs in Liberia. The path out of poverty is taking shape, and continued investment will determine how far the country can walk it.
– Melody Ruiz Melody is based in Bronx, NY, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.Â
