Rinchi
TechInAfrica – It’s already January 2019. New hopes and opportunities await us in this new year. As a continent, Africa is economically promising as many international investors have considered expanding their businesses there. What we’re about to share now is the top 5 best African countries to expand businesses, according to the 2019 World Bank Ease of Doing Business report.
1. Rwanda
Rwanda comes as one of the best African countries with fasting-growing economies. Its annual growth is over 6%. Moreover, Rwanda was recorded as the as the most business reforms in the region. According to the World Bank, Rwanda has carried out most reforms ever since the inception of Doing Business 16 years ago.
The key improvement of the country is the ease of starting a business in Rwanda that has replaced the country’s bureaucratic structures with the electronic system. In fact, Rwanda comes as the second country in the world after New Zealand with the ease of property registration.
2. Kenya
In the areas of Getting Credit and Starting a Business, Kenya came as one of the world’s best performers. Only in two years, Kenya even has moved up 31 spots in the World Bank’s Doing Business ranking. According to the report, one of the main improvements was due to the introduction of a new law by the government, resulting in the ease of credit access for businesses.
Furthermore, the Kenyan government has also partnered with IBM to produce technological solutions for the agencies. The technological solutions have made property registration way easier because the only system government has provided. In the East Africa region, Kenya comes as the leading regional hub in terms of information and communication technology, transportation, and financial services.
3. Ghana
Since Nana Akufo-Addo government took over the country in 2016, the country has promoted sector-led growth to boost the non-oil and non-agricultural sectors. The main commodities of the country since then are oil, gold, and cocoa resulting Ghana’s $47 billion economies. Since Ghana has become an oil producer in 2010, the country has experienced fast economic growth.
Current Ghana’s government has worked hard to robust the country’s economy without having to return financial bailout from the IMF. According to the report, Ghana has changed the importing process, moving to a paperless customs clearance processing system. In the overall index, Ghana has moved up six spots.
4. Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire is included in the top 10 of the countries in the world that have improved, according to the Ease of Doing Business. This one of African countries has introduced a new system for electronic payment of a credit bureau and taxes since the last two years, reducing the processing time for building permits.
According to the report, the agro-based business in Côte d’Ivoire is expected to stay steady with a growth rate of 7% or more in 2020. In West Africa region, Côte d’Ivoire comes as the country with the developed road network and port, resulting investment attraction in the county in 2019.=
5. Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a landlocked country with more than 100 million population, transforming the country into Africa’s manufacturing hub. The government of Ethiopia has been trying to attract more investments in the country with tax incentives, infrastructure investments, and cheap labor. Moreover, the government also has made industrial parks construction as one of its plans. It’s recorded that Ethiopia currently has six industrial parks and nine more parks are awaiting.
Its Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, is a new reformist who has been seeking private investments in the country. Under his leadership, there have been many renewals occurred in the country. The IMF predicted Ethiopia would be the 2019’s fastest growing economy in Africa with a projected 8.5% growth rate.
