Unit 8: Discovery Research

Unit 8: Lecture

Food for Thought https://youtu.be/ACkwyQ6xVrk

Rwanda 2018 Africa Trade Summit

According to some of the reports, “economies in Sub-Saharan Africa adopted a record number of business restructurings for a second consecutive year, articulates the 15th anniversary edition of the World Bank Group’s annual Doing Business report, which screens the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises around the world.

More than 83 business reforms were carried out in the past year, exceeding the previous year’s record of 80 reforms. This brings to a total of 798 the number of reforms carried out in the past 15 years in the 48 economies of the region monitored by Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs.

The region is well represented in 2017 global top 10 improvers, based on reforms undertaken, with Malawi; Nigeria; and Zambia. Malawi, which implemented four reforms, made significant improvements in the area of Getting Credit by adopting a new law that sets clear rules related to bankruptcy procedures and by establishing a new credit bureau. Nigeria also improved access to credit by guaranteeing borrowers the right to inspect their credit data from the credit bureau and also made starting a business faster by allowing electronic stamping of registration documents. Reforms in Zambia also included the strengthening of access to credit by adopting a new Movable Property Act and by setting up a new collateral registry.

Much of the reform activity in the past year focused on the areas of Trading across Borders and Starting a Business, with 15 reforms each, followed by Dealing with Construction Permits, where 14 reforms accounted for 64 percent of the 22 reforms recorded in this area globally. Zambia implemented a global automated system for customs data (ASYCUDA), making it easier for businesses to trade across borders, while Angola and Mozambique made trading across borders easier by improving port infrastructure”.  

Reference

1. The World Bank. (2017, October 31).  Sub-Saharan African economies set new record in reforming their business climate: Doing Business (Links to an external site.) . Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/10/31/sub-saharan-african-economies-set-new-record-in-reforming-their-business-climate-doing-business