World BankInternational Finance Corporation2014-07-222014-07-222013-10-29https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18992This regional profile presents the Doing Business indicators for economies in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It also shows the regional average, the best performance globally for each indicator and data for the following comparator regions: East Asia and the Pacific, Economic Community of Central African States, Middle East and North Africa, Southern African Development Community, and European Union. The data in this report are current as of June 1, 2013, except for the paying taxes indicators, which cover the period January to December 2012. Regional Doing Business reports capture differences in business regulations and their enforcement across countries in a single region. They provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. The report sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. The data set covers 47 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 33 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 25 in East Asia and the Pacific, 25 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 20 in the Middle East and North Africa and 8 in South Asia, as well as 31 OECD high-income economies. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO SERVICESACCOUNTINGBANK LOANBANKRUPTCYBANKRUPTCY LAWSBORROWERBUSINESS ENVIRONMENTBUSINESS INDICATORBUSINESS INDICATORSBUSINESS LAWBUSINESS REGISTRATIONBUSINESS REGULATIONBUSINESS REGULATIONSBUSINESS RELATIONSHIPSBUSINESSESBUYERBUYERSCADASTRECAPITAL GAINSCENTRAL BANKCERTIFICATECERTIFICATESCHAMBER OF COMMERCECHECKSCOLLATERALCOLLATERAL FOR LOANSCOLLATERAL LAWSCOLLATERAL REGISTRYCOMMERCIAL ACTIVITIESCOMMERCIAL BUSINESSCOMMERCIAL CODECOMMERCIAL LAWSCOMMERCIAL REGISTRYCOMPANY LAWCOMPANY LAWSCOMPETITIVENESSCOMPLIANCE COSTSCOMPUTERSCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCONTRACTORSCREDIT HISTORYCREDIT INFORMATIONCREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEMCREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEMSCREDIT SOURCECREDITORSCUSTOMCUSTOMER SERVICESCUSTOMSCUSTOMS CLEARANCEDEBTDEEDDELIVERY TIMEDEPOSITDERIVATIVEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTSDISPUTE RESOLUTIONDISTRIBUTION NETWORKDOCUMENT REQUIREMENTSDOMAINE-MAILECONOMIC ACTIVITYELECTRICITYELECTRONIC DATAELECTRONIC DOCUMENTELECTRONIC FILINGENFORCEMENT PROCEDURESEQUIPMENTEXCHANGE CONTROLEXPERT OPINIONEXPORTERSFINANCIAL HISTORYFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL STATEMENTSFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSFLASHGLOBAL MARKETSHARMONIZATIONIDENTIFICATION NUMBERIMMOVABLE PROPERTYIMPACT ASSESSMENTINCOME TAXINSPECTIONINSPECTIONSINSTALLATIONINSTALLATIONSINSURANCEINTERNAL OPERATIONSINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESSINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL STANDARDSINVESTOR PROTECTIONINVESTOR PROTECTIONSISSUANCEJUDICIAL SYSTEMLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL RIGHTSLENDERLENDERSLENDING DECISIONSLEVYLICENSELICENSE FEESLICENSESLIENSLIMITED LIABILITYLOCAL BUSINESSMACROECONOMIC CONDITIONSMANAGEMENT SYSTEMSMANUFACTURINGMATERIALMEDIUM ENTERPRISESMINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTMINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTSMINORITY INVESTORSMINORITY SHAREHOLDERMINORITY SHAREHOLDER PROTECTIONSMINORITY SHAREHOLDERSMORTGAGEMORTGAGESMOVABLE ASSETSMOVABLE COLLATERALNATURAL RESOURCESNEW MARKETSNEW TECHNOLOGYNOTARIESNOTARYONE-STOP SHOPONESTOP SHOPONLINE REGISTRATIONORIGINAL ASSETOVERHEADPAYMENT OF TAXESPAYROLLPERSONAL ASSETSPERSONAL DATAPRIVATE CREDITPRIVATE CREDIT BUREAUPRIVATE CREDIT BUREAUSPRIVATE PROPERTYPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR CREDITPROCUREMENTPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC REGISTRYPUBLIC SALEPURCHASINGQUERIESREGISTRATION FEEREGISTRATION FEESREGISTRATION PROCESSREGISTRATION PROCESSESREGISTRATION SYSTEMREGISTRIESREGULATORY ENVIRONMENTREGULATORY REQUIREMENTSRESULTRESULTSRETURNRISK MANAGEMENTRISK MANAGEMENT TOOLSSALESSALES AGREEMENTSEARCHSECURITIESSECURITIES REGULATIONSSECURITY INTERESTSELLINGSERVICE PROVIDERSSHAREHOLDERSHAREHOLDERSSTAMP DUTIESSTOCK EXCHANGETAXTAX FORMSTAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBERTAX RATETAX RATESTAX RULESTAX SYSTEMTECHNICAL STANDARDSTELEPHONETELEPHONE CONNECTIONSTELEPHONE LINETIME FRAMETRADINGTRADING COSTSTRANSACTIONTRANSACTIONS SYSTEMTRANSLATIONTRANSPARENCYTURNOVERVALUATIONVERIFICATIONWAREHOUSEWAREHOUSES10.1596/18992