Publication:
Improving Business Registration Procedures at the Sub-National Level : The Case of Lima, Peru

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (324.88 KB)
160 downloads
English Text (13.45 KB)
37 downloads
Date
2007-03
ISSN
Published
2007-03
Editor(s)
Abstract
Obtaining an operating license used to be the most bureaucratic procedure when starting a business in Peru, accounting for 62 percent of the total time. In January 2006, with assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) technical assistance (TA) facility, the metropolitan municipality of Lima launched a new process that reduced the total time needed from 60 to 3 days! In addition, the number of inspections was reduced from five to just one multipurpose inspection; average visits by business owners to the municipality were slashed from 11 to 2; and costs fell by over 50 percent for small firms. In the nine months since the reform was introduced, the municipality registered over 8,314 firms, more than in the last 7 years combined. Here are four key lessons the authors learned along the way: 1) to promote reforms at the sub-national level, it is necessary to get the support of the local media to build awareness of the importance of reducing bureaucratic barriers; 2) when collecting information for the diagnostic, you must work jointly with municipal officers to create a shared understanding of the problem and motivation for change; 3) to implement the new procedures, municipal personnel have to be not only technically trained but also highly motivated and committed; and 4) to avoid the reappearance of the old bottlenecks in the procedure, it is critical that the private sector become a sustainability watchdog.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Rada, Kristtian; Blotte, Ursula. 2007. Improving Business Registration Procedures at the Sub-National Level : The Case of Lima, Peru. IFC Smart Lessons Brief. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10715 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
  • Publication
    Taking Advantage of a Window of Opportunity
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02) Odhiambo, Alban; Kamajugo, Richard; Zizane, Jackie
    Rwanda’s government and private sector took a bold step towards achieving a critical reform agenda with the design and implementationof a single window for international trade system. This implementation marked the first successful collaboration among Rwanda’s numerous agencies that over see the country’s cross-border trade. Addressing the demands of a diverse group of stakeholders was certainly daunting, but effective stakeholder engagement and change management efforts have produced results that are exerting a major impact on the efficiency of goods into and transiting Rwanda. Driving the Single Window project was an aspiration for greater collaboration at the level of government-to-government, business-to business and government-to-business. Rwanda’s membership in the East African Community, which is a Single Customs Territory was another critical factor. By addressing national needs and incorporating a regional focus and outreach in the management of cargo, the Rwanda Electronic Single Window has achieved success.
  • Publication
    A Win for the Private Sector
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02) Nderitu, Elizabeth Murugi; Odongo, Mary
    Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) launched its standards harmonization project in 2011 to help businesses cut costs associated with the different standards in force across the East African community (EAC). The first phase of the project will come to an end in June 2017. This project stemmed from the importance of standards development for regional integration and has been done through supporting the national bureaus of standards in achieving regional harmonization. Product standards have a significant impact on trade in goods within the EAC while non-harmonized standards continue to interrupt the smooth flow of goods in the region. This smart lessons describe the challenges to the harmonization process and how the project’s successful implementation is boosting trade within the region.
  • Publication
    Working with Tajikistan to Develop its First National Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activities
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02) Aliev, Alijon; Konar-Leacy, Violane
    One of the most important instruments of trade facilitation is the commodity nomenclature, which provides a definition of all goods subject to foreign trade. The correct classification of goods forms the basis for determining the appropriate value of a good and for determining the customs duties imposed on a good on import or export. Customs statistics on foreign trade are derived from it, and those statistics in turn serve as a tool for the determination and implementation of customs policy. Commodity nomenclature is used not only at the national level, but also by the World Trade Organization, the World Customs Organization, the United Nations, and other international entities. Importers and exporters or investors in other countries visit customs nomenclature websites thousands of times a day to see the types and levels of customs duties and other charges and trade policy measures that particular countries apply. Trade policy regulations, rules of origin, and trade statistics in almost all of the developed and developing countries are designed and compiled on the basis of customs nomenclatures. This SmartLesson discusses how the Central Asia Trade Logistics Project worked with the Customs Administration of the Republic of Tajikistan on the development of its first national commodity nomenclature.
  • Publication
    PortNet in Morocco
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-01) Hafsi, Nadia
    In 2008, Morocco’s National Ports Agency launched a project to create a national single-window platform for Morocco’s foreign tr ade. The process was long and difficult, and its success is owing in large part to the leadership and focus demonstrated by PORTNET S.A., the company created in 2012 to be in charge of the project. This SmartLesson describes the steps PORTNET took to forge a strategic alliance between public and private stakeholders in Morocco to achieve a common, mutually beneficial aim: streamline Morocco’s foreign trade procedures and improve its business climate.
  • Publication
    Taking the First Step to Facilitate Trade in Sudan
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2017-02) Adam, Ali Giddo
    The Republic of Sudan’s seaports used to be known for congestion resulting from the slow processing of imported goods. In response, the government created an ad hoc National Committee on trade facilitation to help streamline the processing of goods coming in and to facilitate trade. This smart lesson describes the steps taken in setting up the National Committee on Trade Facilitation and the challenges involved.
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Improving the Business Environment in Latvia
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008) Liepina, Sanda; Coolidge, Jacqueline; Grava, Lars
    This paper tracks the process through which FIAS, the investment climate advisory service of the World Bank Group advised the government of Latvia from 1998 to 2004 on ways to improve the business environment, achieve higher rates of economic growth, and thereby alleviate poverty. This case study shows that it is reasonable to describe how assistance by FIAS led to an improved business environment. The role that FIAS advice played may be discerned at the level of benefits accruing to the target population (i.e., the amount of resources freed up by lower costs associated with administrative procedures). Whether these benefits accruing to the business community translated into higher rates of investment and productivity, and thus to higher economic growth and reduced poverty, is a function of the entire political, social, and economic structure in Latvia. It is evident that there are many links in the chain of causation, and that the direct attribution FIAS can claim diminishes at every step downstream from its activities. Credit for success must be shared with the Government of Latvia and its immediate stakeholders (i.e., the businesses and their associations), the European Union accession process, the input of many other complementary projects, market forces, and fortuitous timing.
  • Publication
    Doing Business in Egypt 2008
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008) World Bank; International Finance Corporation
    Doing Business in Egypt 2008 covers three topics at the sub national level: starting a business, dealing with licenses and registering property. These indicators have been selected because they cover areas of local jurisdiction and practice. In the last two years, doing business in Egypt has become more affordable the minimum capital required to start a business and the costs of registering property and dealing with licenses have been slashed. Doing Business in Egypt 2008 records all procedures required for a business in the construction industry to build a standardized warehouse. Doing Business in Egypt 2008 records the full sequence of procedures necessary when a business purchases land and a building to transfer the property title from another business so that the buyer can use the property for expanding its business, as collateral in taking new loans or, if necessary, to sell to another business. The ease of doing business index is limited in scope. The Doing Business indicators provide a new empirical data set that may improve understanding of these issues.
  • Publication
    Doing Business 2007 : How to Reform
    (Washington, DC, 2006) World Bank; International Finance Corporation
    Doing Business 2007: How to reform is the fourth in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 175 economies-from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe-and over time. This publication points out how regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why. The study stresses that there are 4 steps to successful reform: 1) Start simple and consider administrative reforms that don't need legislative changes; 2) Cut unnecessary procedures, reducing the number of bureaucrats entrepreneurs interact with; 3) Introduce standard application forms and publish as much regulatory information as possible; 4) And remember: many of the frustrations for businesses come from how regulations are administered. The internet alleviates these frustrations without changing the spirit of the regulation.
  • Publication
    An Assessment of the Investment Climate in Kenya
    (World Bank, 2009) Iarossi, Giuseppe
    The central objective of this Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to identify the main impediments to productivity growth Kenyan firms face. This objective is achieved through the analysis of firm-level data directly collected by the World Bank in 2007. This ICA arrives at a critical juncture; the government has committed to improving the investment climate, even further convinced that growth can be achieved only through a prosperous private sector. Based on the view that prosperity requires a thriving industrial sector, private sector-led growth is central to the government's economic recovery strategy and its recent "vision 2030." In early 2007 Government of Kenya (GoK) launched its first-ever private sector development strategy. This strategy is based on five pillars: improving Kenya's business environment, accelerating institutional transformation, facilitating growth through greater trade expansion, improving productivity of enterprises, supporting entrepreneurship, and developing small and medium enterprises. All these pillars are linked to the ICA's analytical goal. The ICA uses a robust and standardized methodology that has been applied to many countries worldwide.
  • Publication
    Harnessing Emotional Connections to Improve Financial Decisions: Evaluating the Impact of Financial Education in Mainstream Media
    (World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2013-04) Zia, Bilal; Berg, Gunhild
    This paper exploits the emotional connections and viewer attentiveness of mainstream media to evaluate the economic impact of financial education messages on debt management delivered through a popular television soap opera in South Africa. The study uses a symmetric encouragement design to compare outcomes of individuals who were randomly assigned to watch a soap opera with financial messages, "Scandal!" to those of individuals who were invited to watch a similar soap opera without financial messages, "Muvhango." Both shows overlapped in evening primetime and had similar past viewership profiles. The financial storyline spanned two months and featured one of the leading characters of the show borrowing excessively and irresponsibly through hire-purchase, gambling, and ending up in financial distress; and eventually seeking help to find her way out. Two intermediate and one final follow-up surveys were conducted as part of the study. The analysis finds individuals assigned to watch Scandal had significantly higher financial knowledge of the issues highlighted in the soap opera storyline, in particular messages delivered by the leading character. On behavior, Scandal viewers were almost twice more likely to borrow from formal sources, less likely to engage in gambling, and less prone to enter hire purchase agreements. Messages promoting a national debt mediation helpline delivered by an external character did not sustain traction beyond immediate interest. Three qualitative focus groups highlight the importance of emotional connections with the leading character in motivating behavior change.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Argentina Country Climate and Development Report
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11) World Bank Group
    The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.
  • Publication
    Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
    This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
  • Publication
    Guide to the Debt Management Performance Assessment Tool
    (Washington, DC, 2008-02-05) World Bank
    The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and supplemental information to assist with country assessments of debt management performance, using the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool. The DeMPA is a methodology used for assessing public debt management performance through a comprehensive set of 15 performance indicators spanning the full range of government Debt Management (DeM) functions. It is based on the principles set out in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank guidelines for public debt management, initially published in 2001 and updated in 2003. It is modeled after the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) framework for performance measurement of public financial management. The DeMPA has been designed to be a user-friendly tool to undertake an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in government DeM practices. This guide provides additional background and supporting information so that a no specialist in the area of debt management may undertake a country assessment effectively. The guide can be used by assessors in preparing for and undertaking an assessment. It is particularly useful for understanding the rationale for the inclusion of the indicators, the scoring methodology, and the list of supporting documents or evidence required, and the questions that could be asked for the assessment.
  • Publication
    The Mexican Social Protection System in Health
    (World Bank, Washington DC, 2013-01) Bonilla-Chacín, M.E.; Aguilera, Nelly
    With a population of 113 million and a per-capita Gross Domestic Product, or GDP of US$10,064 (current U.S. dollars), Mexico is one of the largest and highest-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The country has benefited from sustained economic growth during the last decade, which was temporarily interrupted by the financial and economic crisis. Real GDP is projected to grow 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent in 2012 and 2013, respectively (International Monetary Fund, or IMF 2012). Despite this growth, poverty in the country remains high; with half of the population living below the national poverty line. The country is also highly heterogeneous, with large socioeconomic differences across states and across urban and rural areas. In 2010, while the extreme poverty ratio in the Federal District and the states of Colima and Nuevo Leon was below 3 percent, in Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca it was 25 percent or higher. These large regional differences are also found in other indicators of well-being, such as years of schooling, housing conditions, and access to social services. This case study assesses key features and achievements of the Social Protection System in Health (Sistema de Proteccion Social en Salud) in Mexico, and particularly of its main pillar, Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular, PHI). It analyzes the contribution of this policy to the establishment and implementation of universal health coverage in Mexico. In 2003, with the reform of the General Health Law, the PHI was institutionalized as a subsidized health insurance scheme open to the population not covered by the social security schemes. Today, the PHI covers all of its intended affiliates, about 52 million people
  • Publication
    Crime and Violence in Central America : A Development Challenge - Main Report
    (World Bank, 2011-01-01) World Bank
    Crime and violence are now a key development issue for Central American countries. In three nations El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras crime rates are among the top five in Latin America. This report argues that successful strategies require actions along multiple fronts, combining prevention and criminal justice reform, together with regional approaches in the areas of drug trafficking and firearms. It also argues that interventions should be evidence based, starting with a clear understanding of the risk factors involved and ending with a careful evaluation of how any planned action might affect future options. In addition, the design of national crime reduction plans and the establishment of national cross-sectoral crime commissions are important steps to coordinate the actions of different government branches, ease cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritize resource allocation. Of equal importance is the fact that national plans offer a vehicle for the involvement of civil society organizations, in which much of the expertise in violence prevention and rehabilitation resides. Prevention efforts need to be complemented by effective law enforcement. The required reforms are no longer primarily legislative in nature because all six countries have advanced toward more transparent adversarial criminal procedures. The second-generation reforms should instead help deliver on the promises of previous reforms by: (i) strengthening key institutions and improving the quality and timeliness of the services they provide to citizens; (ii) improving efficiency and effectiveness while respecting due process and human rights; (iii) ensuring accountability and addressing corruption; (iv) increasing inter-agency collaboration; and (v) improving access to justice, especially for poor and disenfranchised groups. Specific interventions reviewed in the report include: information systems and performance indicators as a prerequisite to improve inter-institutional coordination and information sharing mechanisms; an internal overhaul of court administration and case management to create rapid reaction, one-stop shops; the strengthening of entities that provide legal counseling to the poor and to women; and the promotion of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms and the implementation of community policing programs.