There are many firms mostly -micro and small- that are de facto excluded from the export chain by virtue of their location (operating in small villages or cities with minimum or no support for export services), information (knowing what it takes and how one exports), cost of export services...

While there is growing support for microfinance globally, the unmet demand remains enormous, particularly in Africa, and especially in post-conflict and frontier countries. In Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), less than 1 percent of...

Improving the regulatory environment - i.e., producing business-friendly regulations is often seen as the main goal of business enabling environment programs. However, an effective regulatory framework is not enough by itself: entrepreneurs and public officials have to be aware of the new...

At the end of a long reform process, Bhutan adopted the labor and employment act of Bhutan on January 5, 2007. The act constitutes the first comprehensive labor market legislation adopted in Bhutan. As part of a wider reform of labor administration policy, it is a major step in the modernization...

An often-repeated remark about George Kingsley Acquah, Ghana's chief justice from 2003 until 2007 and driver of his country's major judicial reforms was that "it took a man like him for this to happen". The author certainly subscribe to this view, having observed his impact from position as...

Reforming bankruptcy laws is difficult for many reasons. First of all, attitudes in Italy toward bankruptcy make it a difficult subject to generate support for. Secondly, bankruptcy reforms are complex and lengthy. They require changes not only to the bankruptcy law but also to other important...

In 2005, it took 11 procedures and 78 days to start a business in Portugal, making it slower than the Democratic Republic of Congo. An entrepreneur would need 20 forms and documents, more than for any other European Union (EU) country, and the total cost was 13.5 percent of the gross national...

This paper intends to share the experience gained by the International Finance Corporations (IFC) Leasing Advisory Project in Central Asia and Azerbaijan (ACALF) in working with a number of financial institutions that provide leasing services. In particular, ACALF has been involved in the...

This SmartLesson discusses the experience in permits and licensing reforms undertaken in a number of countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It seeks to contribute to International financial corporation's (IFC's) knowledge bank of business enabling environment reforms, within the context...

One tool for enhancing economic growth is a simple property registration process. Many developed countries, and countries on their way toward development, have simple, inexpensive, and fast property registration processes. The benefit of such a tool is driven by this thinking: low property...