TheCable

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 Bretton Wood institution made this known in a report released on Friday.

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

“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.

“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.”

The reforms have been driven by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Okechukwu Enelamah, former minister of trade and investment; and Jumoke Oduwole, secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and special adviser to the president on Ease of Doing Business.

Other reforms that counted in Nigeria’s favour include the clearance given to certified engineers to conduct inspections for new electricity connections

“Initiatives also made commercial litigation of smaller cases more efficient. 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.