16 vestafrikanske lande forsøger at give bedre muligheder for iværksættere, ikke mindst de kvindelige, skriver Verdensbankens nyhedstjeneste mandag. Det skal blandt andet ske ved at give lån på 250 millioner US dollar til den private sektor.
WASHINGTON, February 7, 2011: West African countries have some of the biggest barriers and constraints to private business in the world, according to an international ranking. But recent changes to business laws in the region may help pave the way for a more entrepreneurial future, say observers.
A bloc of 16 (soon to be 17) countries is moving to increase access to credit and reduce hurdles to business startup in an effort to improve the overall business climate.
The countries unanimously approved legal changes in December 2010 that will likely make an estimated $250 million in credit available to small businesses, mainly through expanding the definition for loan collateral, according to internal World Bank research.
Thousands of entrepreneurs may also join the formal economy rather than operate off the books (untaxed and unregulated) as a result of new streamlined business registration requirements, say World Bank Group business climate experts.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises are the heart of the African economy,” Togo’s Minister of Justice M. Biossey Kokou Tozoun said in December. “It is therefore essential that small entrepreneurs can turn to banks for loans and that everything be done to encourage them to formalize.”
Pierre Guislain, director of the World Bank Group’s Investment Climate department, says the reforms are a “great step in the right direction.”
“We hope this reform will be the spark that sets a larger process in motion and prompts countries to place a higher priority on improving their business environment.”
Female Entrepreneurs ‘Most Likely’ to Benefit
One of the “major breakthroughs” of the legal reform is the creation of a new business category – entreprenant – that will simplify procedures for micro- and small business owners who can’t afford to hire lawyers to register their businesses.
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the heart of the African economy.
—M. Biossey Kokou Tozoun, Minister of Justice, Togo“We believe women will be the most interested in this new status, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. It will ease their access to formal credit and social benefits,” says Lionel Black Yondo, who manages a Bank Group project assisting the reform effort, along with Xavier Forneris.
Under the new rules, banks may now accept a much wider range of assets as collateral, rather than just real estate, to which most people do not have formal title. Businesses may more easily pledge all kinds of present and future movable goods, including accounts receivable, cash flow or equipment. Banks will be able to better manage and limit risk, and lend in a more secure environment, says Yondo.
He says, as a result, banks will be able to lower the cost and increase the volume of credit in the region, helping to support private sector development and economic growth.
