WORLD BANK RANKS NIGERIA 122ND BEST PLACE TO START BUSINESS

The World Bank has ranked Nigeria 147th among the best places for doing business. It also ranked the country as the 122nd for best countries to start a business.

The report released, yesterday, said Nigeria’s low ranking is mainly caused by electricity problems, where the country is ranked 185th out of 189 countries evaluated. The first African country on the list is Rwanda, ranked  32nd.

The report said in Africa, 66 per cent of countries enacted at least one reform last year, against 33 per cent  in 2005, adding that nine African countries make up the top 20 most improved in terms of business regulations since 2009: Benin, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

The report said economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 189. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

This index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are bench-marked to June 2013.