Rwanda tops the world as the biggest reformer in the history of doing business

Rwanda has once again topped the world when it comes to reforming the business sector to promote private sector and drive economic growth.

Ranked first by the World Bank, Rwanda has made a number of reforms that have improved the ease of doing business.  Close second is Georgia, which launched the first Public Service Hall in 2011 to streamline business registration.

The two countries emerged top of the 128 governments, which introduced a record 314 reforms set to benefit small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs.

Rwanda is also considered one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, thanks to its rapidly urbanizing middle class.

The improved business environment can be attributed to political will, by the government, according to Louise Kanyonga, Head of the Rwanda Development Board’s Strategy and Competitiveness Department.

“Rwanda has adopted a very bold and ambitious approach to reforming its business environment. We benchmark ourselves against the best performers in the world, and we think big,” she said.

Part of the reforms include the digitisation of land records; reducing the time needed to start a business from 43 days to 4 days; increasing access to finance by passing secured transactions laws; and simplifying tax systems, making it easy to comply to tax regulations.

Such reforms saw the country rise up 11 ranks to #29 in 2018 from #41 in 2017. It was second on the continent after Mauritius, which was ranked #20 globally.