This archive report was first published on 25 October 2019.
Kenya has made significant strides in improving its ease of doing business, moving up five places to position 56 in the World Bank's latest ranking. This improvement comes despite a tough economic environment that has seen companies downsize and send workers home.
According to the Doing Business 2020 Report, Kenya has now moved up 80 places in five years, a milestone that may be blighted by an economic slowdown. The report noted that Kenya improved the reliability of electricity supply by modernising its existing infrastructure and by inaugurating a new sub-station in Nairobi.
The launch of a credit bureau in Kenya has also helped to reduce interest rates, collateral, and default rates for loans at commercial banks, said the World Bank. The country ranked fourth in terms of access to credit, with the plethora of digital lending platforms, some started by banks, contributing to this improvement.
However, some analysts have raised concerns that while access to credit may have improved, the quality has not. A raft of directives and tax measures, including new levies on online businesses, has been a sticking point, with some analysts criticising the Government's latest proposal to introduce levies for the digital marketplace.
Kenya Private Sector Alliance Chief Executive Carol Kariuki said the improvement in the ease of doing business in the last five years has had a tremendous impact. She noted that more businesses have been registered and more connected to electricity than any time in history, but many businesses have been grappling with a tough operating environment, especially in dealing with regulators.
On October 25, 2019, Kenya was ranked at position 61 previously, but has now moved up five places to position 56.
