East Africa came under the microscope in a study just released in which the countries were ranked on the ease of doing business.
The World Bank’s Doing Business 2017 report recorded Rwanda and Kenya as the leaders while Burundi, South Sudan and Somalia trailed in at the rear.
It said that the implementation of projects meant to improve trading across borders was the key to the good showing while civil strife hampered those countries that did poorly.
Rwanda - ranked 56 from last year’s 59 - remained the easiest place to start a business in the region. It was also the second easiest country within which to do business in sub-Saharan Africa after Mauritius, which is ranked 49th.
Kenya - the bloc’s biggest economy – was in second place, and ranked as the most improved. It jumped up 21 places from 113 last year to 92.
Uganda was ranked 115 from last year’s 122, while Tanzania climbed to 132 from 144.
Civil strife blighted Burundi which tagged along in 157th position, while South Sudan, where there has also been ongoing conflict, was ranked at a lowly 186th spot, only four places short of the worst performing country in the world, Somalia at 190th – where war, terrorism and a fledgling government saw it ranked as the worst country in the world in which to start a business.
