Bai Bureh Heritage Foundation is pleased to announced that Madam Fatmata Nippe Sow Momoh will serve as Grand Chief Patron for the 8th edition of the Bai Bureh Service Delivery awards, slated for the 13th of December, 2025 at the Port Loko District Council Conference Hall. Annually, the event celebrates outstanding contributions to national development, governance, and service delivery across Sierra Leone. Fatmata Nippe Sow Momoh, a respected philanthropist and women’s rights advocate, is widely recognized for her lifelong commitment to community service and leadership empowerment. She is the widow of the late President Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leone’s second Head of State (1985–1992), and convener of the Coalition of Former Presidents’ Wives and First Ladies, a continental network uniting women who have held the role of First Lady across Africa.
In keeping with this year’s awards theme of “Fostering development through service excellence recognition,” Madam Momoh’s participation underscores her deep connection to national service and social transformation. Since returning to Sierra Leone in 2010, she has spearheaded numerous initiatives advancing women’s economic inclusion and community leadership. Through her community women’s organization, she mobilized grassroots support for female entrepreneurship, helping hundreds of women gain access to small business loans and training. Her dedication to public health was evident during the Ebola outbreak, when she led her National Marketing Organization (NMO), a coalition of 72 markets nationwide, in implementing a massive awareness campaign that stretched from Adonkia to Waterloo, marking one of the largest health outreach efforts in the country’s history.
After briefly relocating to the United States in 2015, Fatmata Nippe Momoh returned to Sierra Leone with renewed vigor and a broader vision for inclusive development. Partnering with the Ministry of Agriculture, she expanded the NMO’s reach, supporting rural farmers through access to seeds, fertilizer, and training programs. Her leadership has been instrumental in creating sustainable livelihoods for thousands of women and small-scale farmers, transforming local markets into thriving networks of social enterprise. The NMO’s regional chapters continue to serve as models of women-led economic empowerment across the nation.
Madam Momoh’s recent initiatives have taken on a continental dimension. In 2024, she founded the Coalition of Former Presidents’ Wives and First Ladies, an African-wide platform dedicated to promoting the dignity, welfare, and continued engagement of former First Ladies in national development. Through this initiative, she is fostering dialogue and collaboration among former First Ladies to leverage their experience in governance, peacebuilding, and humanitarian work. Her leadership in this area has positioned her as one of Africa’s foremost advocates for the post-office visibility and impact of women leaders.
With a legacy defined by humility, resilience, and service, Fatmata Nippe Sow Momoh continues to embody the spirit of nation-building and empowerment. Her guiding philosophy, that “empowering women is not just about creating opportunities for them, but about building stronger families, stronger markets, and stronger nations” resonates deeply with her life’s work. As she prepares to grace the 8th Bai Bureh Service Delivery Awards, her presence symbolizes a bridge between past and future leadership, reminding Sierra Leoneans that service, compassion, and integrity remain the cornerstones of true national progress.
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