Kenya climbs 12 positions in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index

david nganga

November 1, 2017 12:23 PM

This is Kenya’s best performance in the last 15 years which has also seen the nation move 53 positions over the last three years.

Kenya's standing has improved by 12 places in the latest World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report, an indicator that a number of business reforms initiated by the government may be paying off.

The Doing Business 2017 report showed that Kenya is now ranked 80th worldwide, up from 92nd in 2016, and 3rd in Sub-Sahara Africa in the the Ease of Doing Business rankings.

The country’s improvement was credited to five reforms in the areas of starting a business,getting credit,getting electricity,paying taxes,trading across borders and dealing with construction permits.

The World Bank says the East African nation has carried out the 2nd highest number of business-friendly reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last 15 years.

The report notes that Kenya made starting a business easier by merging the procedures required to operate formally.

The country also made paying taxes easier by implementing an online platform, iTax, for filing and paying corporate income tax and the standards levy.

Industrialization Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohammed said the new ranking will see Kenya improve in attracting investments in the country.

“The Improvements are driven by efforts by the government and the private sector in improving the business climate. Kenya has delivered last year the highest number of business-related reforms on the African continent,” he said while addressing the press in Nairobi upon receiving the report.

Last year, Kenya moved 21 places position 92 globally out of 190 countries making it the third most improved economy for two years in a row. The country aims at being in the top 50 by 2020.

New Zealand maintained top spot as the easiest place in the world to do business closely followed by Singapore,Denmark and Republic of Korea. Somalia emerged the worst followed by Eriteria and Venezuela.