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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Nasdaq turns negative for year | 11:01am EDT Face transplant performed on woman mauled by chimpanzee 10:44am EDT OPEC says oil supply gap looms later this year 9:18am EDT Alabama sets nation's toughest immigration law 09 Jun 2011 Alleged Weiner nude photo released by radio hosts 09 Jun 2011 Discussed 108 Alabama governor signs nation’s toughest immigration law 79 ”The world is getting warmer”: Romney 72 U.S. debt default unimaginable, creditors say Watched Bodypainters apply their skill Mon, Jul 19 2010 Four-year-old takes art world by storm Mon, Jun 6 2011 Outrage over point blank teen killing in Pakistan Thu, Jun 9 2011 "Dollar boys" keep Sierra Leone in business Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Euro slides on Greek debt aid uncertainty 11:00am EDT Euro hampered by Greece worries; China data eyed Thu, Jun 9 2011 Euro pins hopes on ECB; kiwi bolstered by RBNZ Wed, Jun 8 2011 Dollar bruised by Bernanke comments; euro eyes $1.47 Tue, Jun 7 2011 U.S. stocks, dollar fall after Bernanke comments Tue, Jun 7 2011 Analysis & Opinion China’s forbidden market lures global blue-chips “Locavesting”: Capitalism for Main Street Related Topics World » Lifestyle » A woman pays for goods at a main market in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, March 12, 2008. Credit: Reuters/Katrina Manson By Simon Akam FREETOWN | Fri Jun 10, 2011 11:36am EDT FREETOWN (Reuters) - Alhaji Bangura plies his trade on Siaka Stevens street in the heart of Sierra Leone's capital, a wad of "leone" banknotes in hand. He is a "dollar boy," part of a poorly remunerated army that trades foreign exchange in a country where hard currency is hard to find and labor is cheap. "Anyone that wants to change, I can change for them, white or black," explained the 28-year-old. A ragtag group known for piercing cries of "dollars, pounds, euros!," the dollar boys form a pillar of the war-scarred West African state's economy, providing traders and companies, access to currency the central bank cannot supply. "The reason why the economy has not collapsed and things have not come to a halt is that informal arrangements fill the gap," said Financial Secretary Edmund Koroma, referring to both the dollar boys as well as to the bilateral deals formed between exporters and importers. When the global financial crisis struck in 2008, it hit demand for Sierra Leone's main foreign exchange earner -- and ultimate luxury commodity -- diamonds. With forex now scarce, the elaborate "dollar boy" network provides a crucial service for everyone from small-time traders to large-scale importers. "It's much better from the street than the bank," said Mohamed Musa Sesay, who imports shoes, jeans and stationery from neighboring Guinea as well as Gambia and Senegal. "Sometimes I need up to $20,000. I get it on the street in 10 to 15 minutes," he said. Nasri Halloway's Commodities Trading Company -- Sierra Leone's largest importer of rice and the local agent for agriculture giant Louis Dreyfus -- has also turned to the streets when formal forex sources run dry. "Let it be," he said. "If you don't allow them to buy on the street, the banks will have a sole monopoly of foreign exchange. They may try to put the prices up. This network cannot be stopped," he said. The dollar boys get their foreign currencies by doggedly approaching likely holders of dollar, pounds and euros on the streets of Freetown, and are able to sell the foreign exchange in bulk by pooling their resources. ILLEGAL, BUT NEEDED Selling money on the street is illegal in Sierra Leone, but it is tolerated amid limitation of the formal system. Since 2000, the Bank of Sierra Leone has held a weekly auction of foreign exchange where banks are allowed to bid, as are traders who can prove they are importing goods. "Access is open, subject to you having import documents for the underlying transaction," Ibrahim Lamin, director of the bank's financial markets department, told Reuters. However, the amount of currency on offer -- which recently rose to $1 million from $600,000 -- still only provides about 10 percent of the economy's needs. Despite their importance to Sierra Leone's economy, the dollar boys' existence is precarious and individual margins are tiny. The spread between their buy and sell prices can be as small as 10 leones ($0.002). "Sometimes I will not make nothing," admitted Idriss Lissa, a 32-year-old who has been changing money on the street for 10 years. "The dollar guys are many, because there is no jobs facility," he added, in Sierra Leonean English. For the time being dollar boys are a central part of Freetown's street life. But their days may be numbered. Several large mining projects are under development in Sierra Leone, and there is the prospect of offshore oil revenues following a strike in 2009. Forex inflows are already up by 30 percent, and after its previous precipitous fall the leone has stabilized at around 4,400 per dollar. "The situation has improved," said Mubaiwa Mubayiwa, head of wholesale banking for Standard Chartered in Freetown. "But it's not at the stage where there's foreign currency in abundance." Central banker Ibrahim Lamin predicts that, in time, the dollar boy phenomenon will fade away: "As productivity improves jobs will be created and they will be absorbed." (Editing by Richard Valdmanis) World Lifestyle Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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