The World Bank Group has commenced its assessment of the business and investment climate in up to 180 economies under its flagship Business Ready project.

The project is a key instrument of its new strategy to facilitate private investment, generate employment, and improve productivity to help countries accelerate development in inclusive and sustainable ways.

According to the World Bank, the project is set to help countries boost development inclusive and sustainable ways as well as and replace the World Bank Group’s earlier Doing Business project.

The project was announced in a statement published by the World Bank’s Online Media Briefing Centre.

The statement said the first annual ‘Business Ready’ report, covering 54 economies, would be published in the Spring of 2024 and reflects a more balanced and transparent approach toward evaluating a country’s business and investment climate.

The World Bank disclosed that the report has been shaped by recommendations from experts from within and outside the World Bank Group, including governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations.

Indermit Gill, the bank’s chief economist and senior Vice President for development economics, noted that the bank is bringing back a fuller and sharper measure of the investment climate of countries which is something that is badly needed in a global economy in the midst of a generalized slowdown.

Gill also disclosed that data collection on the business environment of the initial 54 economies was done through extensive consultations with regulatory experts and “nationally representative World Bank Enterprise Surveys” collected by competitively selected survey companies.

Norman Loayza, Director of the World Bank’s Indicators Group, which leads the project, said the Business Ready project represents a new approach to assessing the business and investment climates.

The Aim of the Business Ready Project

Loayza noted that the project aims to establish a better balance between the ease of conducting a business and the broader implications for society as a whole.

“It gives a more positive role for governments, advocating for better public services for businesses. In addition to experts’ assessments, it includes direct information from entrepreneurs and managers on their experience navigating the economy’s business environment.”
Norman Loayza

According to the World Bank Group, Business Ready focuses on 10 topics covering the lifecycle of a firm in the course of starting, operating, or closing or reorganizing its activities: Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency.

Over the next three years, the project is expected to grow and cover about 180 economies worldwide annually, starting with 54 economies in 2023-24, 120 economies in 2024-25, and reaching 180 economies in 2025-26.

The project’s objective is reflected in its name—to make each country’s economic environment ready for a dynamic private sector. The name highlights the fact that economies exist in different stages of readiness, and that governments play a key role in creating a business environment that is conducive for sustainable development, the international financial institution stated.