{{Washington, D.C., October 29, 2014}}—{A new World Bank Group report finds that Rwanda is among the top three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where it is easiest to do business—along with Mauritius and South Africa. The country has implemented more reforms improving business regulations for local entrepreneurs than any other economy worldwide since 2005.}
Released today, Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency shows that Rwanda ranks among the top 20 economies globally in two areas measured by the report: the ease of registering property and the ease of getting credit.
“Rwanda has been an example for emerging economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide. The country has successfully implemented a strategy to improve the business environment for local entrepreneurs that has brought tangible results,” said Melissa Johns, Advisor, Global Indicators Group, Development Economics, World Bank Group. “For example, ten years ago, it took an entrepreneur 168 hours a year to pay taxes. Thanks to a series of reforms, the process of paying taxes can now be completed in 107 hours a year— which is faster than in most developed economies.”
“We congratulate the Government of Rwanda on another great year at the cutting edge of investment climate reforms. Progress made in important areas, including access to credit, securing construction and occupancy permits and in the affordability of electricity is a clear proof of the Government commitment to providing an attractive environment for business.” Said Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Manager for Rwanda. “I’ve had an opportunity to visit the one-stop shop for certifying a new business and have been very impressed with the simplicity and efficiency of the process.”
In 2013/14, Rwanda facilitated access to credit by improving its legal framework for secured transactions. It made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the fee for obtaining a freehold title and by streamlining the process for obtaining an occupancy permit. And the electricity company made getting electricity less costly by eliminating several fees.
This year, for the first time, Doing Business collected data for a second city in the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million. Differences between cities are common in indicators measuring the steps, time, and cost to complete regulatory transactions where local agencies play a larger role, finds the report.
The report finds that Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business. Joining it on the list of the top 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulatory environments are New Zealand; Hong Kong SAR, China; Denmark; the Republic of Korea; Norway; the United States; the United Kingdom; Finland; and Australia.
{{About the Doing Business report series}}
The annual World Bank Group flagship Doing Business report analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on the distance to frontier scores for 10 topics and cover 189 economies. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies. Each year the report team works to improve the methodology and to enhance their data collection, analysis and output. The project has benefited from feedback from many stakeholders over the years. With a key goal to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the local regulatory environment for business around the world, the project goes through rigorous reviews to ensure its quality and effectiveness. This year’s report marks the 12th edition of the global Doing Business report series. For more information about the Doing Business reports, please visit doingbusiness.org and join us on doingbusiness.org/Facebook.
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