Massive boost for Sub-Saharan African economies, says World Bank
October 22, 2011 (JUBA) – The pace of regulatory improvements has picked up across Sub-Saharan Africa in comparison to six years ago, according to a report by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) said in a recent report.
Entitled, ‘Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World,’ the report assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 183 economies, ranking these them in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency, and trading across borders.
Six years ago, only a third of Sub-Saharan African economies were making improvements to the regulatory climate for domestic firms.
For instance, between June 2010 and May 2011, the report notes that 36 out of 46 governments in the region implemented reforms in at least one of the 10 areas measured.
“Entrepreneurship is constrained when regulation is too complex or onerous,” said Augusto Lopez-Claros, director of Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group. He added that “with their impressive improvements this year, the governments of Sub-Saharan Africa are improving prospects for local businesses.”
For the fourth year in a row, Mauritius was the easiest place in Sub-Saharan Africa for an entrepreneur to do business, with a global rank of 23, the report says.
Meanwhile, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone and Burundi are cited as the most-improved economies for entrepreneurs, notable for implementing reforms in areas such as paying taxes, getting credit, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, and resolving insolvency.
“Post-conflict economies such as Burundi, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are among those that have implemented broad regulatory reforms,” explained Sylvia Solf; the leading author of the report. She continued, “they demonstrate that despite challenges, economies can move forward to encourage entrepreneurship.”
Over the past six years, the report concludes, 43 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa have made their regulatory environment more business-friendly, adding that steps have been taken to improve business regulation through a regional coordination to overhaul the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).
(ST)