The World Bank on Thursday said ease of doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa remains ‘one of the weakest performing regions with an average score of 51.8.
According to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 study, the score is “Well below the OECD high-income economy average of 78.4 and the global average of 63.0.
Compared to the previous year, Sub-Saharan African economies raised their average ease of doing business score by just 1 percentage point in Doing Business 2020, whereas economies in the Middle East and North Africa region raised their average score by 1.9.”
“With reforms led by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa last year and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community this year, economies in Sub-Saharan Africa have demonstrated how regional cooperation can help to effectively improve the business climate,” said Santiago Croci Downes, Program Manager of the Doing Business Unit.
The study said Togo represents a bright spot.
Mauritius is the only Sub-Saharan Africa country on the top 20 list ranking at number 13. Rwanda (38), Morocco (53), Kenya (56 ) and Tunisia (78). However, Sub-Saharan Africa economies trail as most economies (12) in the bottom 20 are from the region.
Nigeria was among the 10 economies that improved most on the ease of doing business after implementing regulatory reforms.
Nigeria’s 15-place rise on the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business Index is welcome news. We‘re now ranked 131st, from 146th last year; & up 39 places since 2016,when we established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council(PEBEC). Our goal is a Top 70 position by 2023.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) October 24, 2019
World Bank’s new “Ease of Doing Business” ranking: Only 2 African countries in top 50. More must rank higher, especially Africa’s larger economies, since #Africa rec’d only $46 billion FDI. Note: Inverse correlation between Africa’s top FDI recipients & their lower “Ease” rank. pic.twitter.com/1Y6sfeC2i5
— Zemedeneh Negatu (@Zemedeneh) October 25, 2019
Here are the best African countries for doing business in 2020:
Mauritius
Africa: 1
World: 13
Ease of doing business ranking: 81.5
Rwanda
Africa: 2
World: 38
Ease of doing business ranking: 76.5
Morocco
Africa: 3
World: 53
Ease of doing business ranking: 73.4
Kenya
Africa: 4
World: 56
Ease of doing business ranking: 73.2
Tunisia
Africa: 5
World: 78
Ease of doing business ranking: 68.7
South Africa
Africa: 6
World: 84
Ease of doing business ranking: 67.0
Zambia
Africa: 7
World: 85
Ease of doing business ranking: 66.9
Botswana
Africa: 8
World: 78
Ease of doing business ranking: 66.2
Togo
Africa: 9
World: 97
Ease of doing business ranking: 62.3
Seychelles
Africa: 10
World: 100
Ease of doing business ranking: 61.7
Namibia
Africa: 11
World: 104
Ease of doing business ranking 61.4
Malawi
Africa: 12
World: 109
Ease of doing business ranking: 60.9
Côte d’Ivoire
Africa: 13
World: 110
Ease of doing business ranking: 60.7
Djibouti
Africa: 14
World: 112
Ease of doing business ranking: 60.5
Egypt
Africa: 15
World: 114
Ease of doing business ranking: 60.1
READ: Kenya, Rwanda Among Top 10 Countries Where to Invest in Africa 2020
A few weeks ago, the World Bank cut the region’s economic growth forecast for 2019 to 2021 by 0.2 percentage points from its earlier projection, citing a slowdown in fixed investment and policy uncertainty in the global economy.
“Africa’s economies are not immune to what is happening in the rest of the world, and this is reflected in the subdued growth rates across the region,” said Albert Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank. “At the same time, the evidence clearly links poor governance to poor growth performance, so efficient and transparent institutions should be on the priority list for African policy makers and citizens.”
