Mauritius tops sub-Saharan Africa in ease of doing business, but not because of MSM-ML-OPR

Despite the ongoing political satire and the negative impacts the MSM-ML-OPR regime is projecting on the country’s image worldwide, Mauritius, remained as one of the leading sub-Saharan African nation for the ease of doing business.

Mauritius is in a tight group of three, which includes Rwanda and Kenya, in the 2018 World Bank Doing Business report. And it is not due to the Pravind Jugnauth’s leadership style, but to the already existing laws and conditions that makes it easier for a foreign and local entity to do business in the beloved country.

The report, which examines regulations and conditions necessary to enhance business climate, said Mauritius ranks 25th globally, followed by Rwanda at 41st and Kenya at 80th.

The annual report focuses on 11 main areas that affect business such as ease of starting a business, obtaining construction permits, access to electricity, property registration, access to credit, tax payments among others. While it took 61 days on average to start a business in Africa in 2003, it now takes 24 days, against a global average of 20 days, economic experts said in the report.

It said 83 reforms were implemented last year in sub-Saharan Africa to make it easier to do business. It did not mention any reforms in Mauritius in 2016 but mentioned Kenya implemented the most reforms in the region in the past year, with six.

It also said four other economies including Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda and Senegal implemented five reforms each during the past year. 

No region has ever reported as many changes in a single year with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for nearly a third of all reforms globally, according to the World Bank.