Nigeria

Ease of doing business: World Bank lists Nigeria among top 20 reformers

Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:46 PM by Aanu Adegun

- The World Bank has listed Nigeria as one of the top 20 countries that improved in the ease of doing business

- According to the bank, starting business in Nigeria has now become more easier

- Other countries listed alongside Nigeria are Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China among others

Out of 190 countries, the World Bank has listed Nigeria as one of the top 20 countries that improved and carried out reforms in the ease of doing business.

The apex bank disclosed this in a report released on Friday, September 27, the federal government discl

"Economies are selected based on the number of reforms and on how much their ease of doing business score improved,” the World Bank said.

Going further, the bank also said that: “Nigeria made starting a business easier by operationalizing a new electronic platform that integrates the tax authority and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The CAC also upgraded its name reservation platform and, in Kano, there is now an electronic platform for registering business premises online, eliminating the need to appear in person.

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“In Lagos, land administration was made more transparent following the digitization of cadastral plans in a geographic information system; digital copies of cadastral plans are now easily obtainable.”

According to the bank, certified engineers in Nigeria now have the clearance to conduct inspections for new electricity connections

It added that Nigeria has also implemented initiatives which made commercial litigation of smaller cases more efficient. It added that the Chief Judges in Lagos and Kano issued practice directions for small claims courts introducing pre-trial conferences and limit adjournments.

“Finally, customs integrated more agencies into its electronic data interchange system, and port authorities launched an e-payment system, speeding up both exports and imports.”

Other countries listed alongside Nigeria are Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Djibouti, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, The Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Togo, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, recall that Legit.ng had reported that the federal government of Nigeria was in talks with the World Bank over a $2.5 billion concessionary loan.