According to the World Bank Group's yearly report on the ease of doing business, ‘Doing Business 2017: Equal Opportunity for All’, 137 economies worldwide have adopted key reforms that make it easier to start and operate small and medium-sized businesses.

The report also found that 37 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 48 economies adopted some 80 reforms in the past year, an increase of 14% from the previous year.

Further, more than half of the past year’s reforms were implemented by the 17 members of the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (Ohada).

These economies reformed most in the areas of resolving insolvency and starting a business.

Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa made starting a business easier by introducing or improving online portals. Further, as a part of the Ohada reform agenda, Cameroon introduced a new conciliation procedure for companies in financial difficulties.

This now makes resolving insolvency easier by enabling additional outlets to settle debts.

Seven African economies implemented reforms related to trading across borders.

For example, Niger made trading across borders easier by removing the mandatory pre-shipment inspection for imported products.

“Although the region still has work to do to make itself more business-friendly, we see steady improvements within various economies,” noted report manager Rita Ramalho.

Mauritius once again ranked best in the region, with an overall ‘Doing Business’ global ranking of 49.

It performed best in the areas of protecting minority investors and dealing with construction permits, with a rank of 32 and 33 respectively, on those indicators.

The report noted that it takes 156 days to complete the construction permitting processes for simple buildings in Mauritius, compared with 183 days in France and 222 days in Austria.
 
The report also found that developing countries carried out more than 75% of the total 283 reforms in the past year, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for over a quarter of all reforms.
 
In the report’s global country rankings of business efficiency, it awarded the top spot to New Zealand. Singapore ranked second, followed by Denmark, Hong Kong, China, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the UK, the US, Sweden and Macedonia.
 
The world's top ten improvers, based on reforms undertaken, were Brunei, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Belarus, Indonesia, Serbia, Georgia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
  
"Simple rules that are easy to follow are a sign that a government treats its citizens with respect. They yield direct economic benefits, including more entrepreneurship, more market opportunities for women and more adherence to the rule of law,” noted World Bank chief economist and senior VP Paul Romer.