( CNN ) -- A decade-long civil war wrecked Sierra Leone 's economy , but now a juice business could provide a blueprint of how to add value to the country 's exports . Although the civil war in Sierra Leone ended nine years ago , it is only now that the country 's first significant value-added export has emerged . Africa Felix Juice produces juice concentrate from mango and pineapple farmed throughout Sierra Leone and exports it internationally . The company is working from a special economic zone , in the form of a 54-acre low-tax industrial park , built just outside of the capital Freetown . It is designed to attract foreign interest and although similar zones exist in other parts of Africa , this project is a first for Sierra Leone . The zone was set up by First Step -- a commercial subsidiary of the American NGO World Hope International . First Step discovered that many farmers in Sierra Leone struggle to turn their fresh produce into money and that a lot of fruit ends up unsold or left rotting on the ground . Sierra Leone 's Deputy Minister of Information Sheka Tarawalie admits : `` We have fruits like mangos , pineapples all over the country , but they are being wasted , and there is not much value added to these resources . '' First Step 's industrial park is intended to house factories that can process Sierra Leone 's natural resources , rather than simply exporting them . Richard Schroeder , First Step 's CEO , sees the industrial park as a logical solution to help develop new business in the country . He says : `` We 're just making it possible for businesses to easily establish and employ people to start processing resources locally instead of what always happens in Africa , which is , it 's seen as a source of natural resources . `` Natural resources are dug up , brought some place else , cut down or taken out of the water , and processed and sent back to Africa or other places in the world , when the real value addition is , where jobs are created , where income is created -- where an economy can really find its engine . '' There are stringent selection criteria for potential tenants to obtain a plot in the industrial park . `` There has to be a commitment to not only the financial bottom line , '' says Schroeder . `` We 're looking for tenants that also are passionate and care about their impact in terms of social impact and environmental impact . '' Africa Felix Juice is now the first tenant and enjoys a three-year tax holiday , along with security , electricity and water supplies . Majority-owned by First Step , Africa Felix was founded by Claudio Scotto . Its mission is , `` to become a pioneer and leader in the Fairtrade tropical fruit juice concentrate market in the EU . '' It pays farmers about $ 250 to $ 300 for each tree harvest -- - a substantial jump from the $ 15 they would get at the local market . Africa Felix Juice eventually plans to directly employ close to 100 Sierra Leoneans and provide a market for nearly 1,000 small farmers throughout the country . `` We 're targeting the fair-trade niche of the business , obviously , because Sierra Leone has a difficult past , '' says Claudio . `` A fruit juice coming from Sierra Leone , we think , will have a very good impact into European consumers that can now choose something tangible coming from a place that they were thinking is only war , famine and death , '' he added . Although special economic zones have been successful in Asia , some analysts have voiced concern that they wo n't work in countries without a well-developed labor force or infrastructure . But with Africa Felix Juice up and running , and farmers receiving increased profits , the success of the project has not gone unnoticed . `` First Step is doing something that is historic , is unheard of in contemporary history in our country , '' says Tarawalie . `` And they 're changing the lives of people in the sense that they can see development taking place in our own lifetime . '' He says he hopes Africa Felix Juice and the special economic zone will act as a catalyst for potential investors , demonstrating that , `` we have created an enabling environment for companies to come in and do their business without hindrance . ''
Special economic zone is a first for Sierra Leone . It is intended to house factories that can process Sierra Leone 's natural resources . The government has said it will invest up to $450 million in the project, which would create about 1,000 jobs and generate an estimated $1 billion per year by 2025.