A survey by the South Africa-based
research organisation, Good Governance Africa (GGA), has revealed improvements
in business conditions in Africa, where it is getting easier to start a
business.
However, GGA’s 2014 Africa Survey
indicated that "while it is getting easier to start a business in Africa,
only Mauritius, Rwanda and South Africa are in the top 50 of the world’s
easiest countries to conduct business.
The Africa Survey, a
comprehensive annual collection of social, political and economic indicators
from all countries on the continent compiled from a wide range of sources, is
to be released on October 28 in Johannesburg.
World Bank’s 2014 Ease of Doing Business Index ranked Mauritius 20, Rwanda 32, South Africa 41, Tunisia 51 and Botswana 56 – as the top five countries in Africa where it is easiest to do business.
“Although the rates of improvement
are not uniform across the continent, it is encouraging to see that most
African countries are making it easier to start a business,” GGA researcher
Georgina Alexander said. “Small to medium-sized enterprises are important
drivers of job creation and economic growth.”
The Africa Survey found that more African countries are making it easier and faster to do business: over two-thirds decreased the number of procedures required to start a business between 2005 and 2013; and over three-quarters reduced the number of days.
It stated that Rwanda and Madagascar
have the lowest number of procedures required to start a business, at two,
while Equatorial Guinea has the highest, at 18.
“Rwanda has the lowest number of
days required to start a business at two days whereas it takes 135 days to
start a business in Equatorial Guinea,” it added. “In comparison, it takes 19
days to open a business in South Africa and five procedures.”
Good Governance Africa is a research organisation that promotes better
government management. Its main publications are the Africa Survey and Africa in Fact, a journal that tracks government
performance and proposes solutions.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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