Ease of Doing Business
INTRODUCTION
EDO STATE EODB GUIDE BOOK
However, it is no longer news that states are funded by the Federation account and many states run themselves with the view that at the end of the month funding come from the Federal Government. Statistics has shown that states’ ability to
do well come from businesses in their environment because if states do not succeed there will no revenue to function in terms of taxes. Hence, for any state to survive there must be enough businesses that can pay taxes, operating in an environment that enables them to thrive. It is the responsibility of government to create that enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Unfortunately, government have become arrogant not prioritizing the welfare of businesses that is putting their welfare over that of the people. It is imperative to resolve the challenges that businesses face by looking at short- and long-
term solutions to restore investors’ confidence. If measures are not taken to bolster commerce activities, businesses will have a reason to leave. The challenges we are experiencing requires reforms and some are being implemented in the state as recommended by PEBEC.
However, it is no longer news that states are funded by the Federation account and many states run themselves with the view that at the end of the month funding come from the Federal Government. Statistics has shown that states’ ability to
do well come from businesses in their environment because if states do not succeed there will no revenue to function in terms of taxes. Hence, for any state to survive there must be enough businesses that can pay taxes, operating in an environment that enables them to thrive. It is the responsibility of government to create that enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Unfortunately, government have become arrogant not prioritizing the welfare of businesses that is putting their welfare over that of the people. It is imperative to resolve the challenges that businesses face by looking at short- and long-
term solutions to restore investors’ confidence. If measures are not taken to bolster commerce activities, businesses will have a reason to leave. The challenges we are experiencing requires reforms and some are being implemented in the state as recommended by PEBEC.
Continuous Improvement of the Business Environment
The new indicators assess four significant categories of importance
to MSMEs to continually improve subnational initiatives affecting
the business environment. Figure 1 depicts the different phases of
the efforts.
A new orientation and approach where the pains of existing busi-
nesses form the rallying point should form the focus of govern-
ment initiatives to address the bottlenecks and constraints to the
business environment. Information on the EoDB is the focus of
subsequent sections of this report
Governor’s Response
In response to the new development, the Edo State government recognizes the critical role of MSMEs in developing the local economy and prosperity. The government is also working on identifying and implementing policies to address the constraints affecting businesses in this category to address
such concerns of the businesses.
The Governor inaugurated a 15-man Business Enabling Environment Task Team to identify and proffer solutions to bottlenecks that inhibit business growth and to create a conducive environment for businesses in the state. The Task Team was given the assignment to assist the state in preparing for the PEBEC survey, which compares the
efforts of different states in the country in making their business environment attractive to investors in selected indicators.
Participants from selected Edo state governmentministries, agencies and departments attended an awareness creation session where participants gained knowledge of the PEBEC EoDB/SABER indicators and state ranking assessment. Attendees at the session also introduced the EoDB imple-mentation roadmap to identify and implement the reforms to the local business environment. The discussions during the session outlined several activities required to implement the EoDB initiatives.
This section presents an overview of the indicators under the four categories assessed during the Ease of Doing business survey. The indicators target inappropriate and encumbering regulations, policies and laws that create an unstable environment that stifles MSMEs forcing many of them to operate in the informal economy.
Categories
assessed during
the Ease of Doing
Business survey
Regulatory Environment
The Regulatory Environment indicator explores how local laws affect various aspects of a business’ operations. It analyses the legal and regulatory framework that encourages productivity and supports an enabling business landscape. Quality business regulations on starting a business, enforcing contracts, paying taxes and property rights are essential to economic development and sustained growth. This section presents an overview of the indicators under the four categories assessed during the Ease of Doing business survey. The indicators target inappropriate and encumbering regulations, policies and laws that create an unstable environment that stifles MSMEs forcing many of them to operate in the informal economy
The participating MDAs under this category are the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Ministry of Justice, Edo State Internal Revenue Service, Edo State Geographical Information Services and Ministry of Physical Planning.
Transparency and Accessibility to Information
Transparency and Accessibility to Information assess the level of investment promotion, the quality and availability of state information, and its structures provided to businesses and investors. This indicator measures the role of an Investment Promotion Agency in equipping potential investors with the required information to aid their business decisions. The second component of the indicator assesses how the state uses its information services to disseminate information of value to the business community
Transparency and accessibility to information aid MSMEs’ decision-making, reduce costs, and increase market opportunities. Transparency and accessibility to information indicator delve deeper into state investment promotion initiatives and other information structures. The responsible MDAs under this indicator are Edo State Investment Promotion Office and the Ministry of
Communications & Orientation.
Infrastructure and Security
The Infrastructure and Security indicator focuses on the availability of the requisite infrastructure that improves
the business environment and collectively reduces the costs of operating a business. This indicator measures
the provision and level of security within the state, availability of essential infrastructure such as electricity,
healthcare facilities, road network and logistics costs.
Several sub-indicators cover a range of areas that impact MSMEs running their businesses in Edo State. The participating MDAs are the Ministry of Roads & Bridges, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport and agencies responsible for security within the state
Skills and Labour
The Skills and Labour indicator assesses the accessibility and availability of talent in the state and the pres-
ence of state structures to ease access to talent. This indicator measures the existence and efficacy of state
structures in assisting citizens to gain skilled and unskilled employment.
The sub-indicator assesses how businesses gain access to a reliable and skilled labour force to meet their staffing requirements. The MDA responsible for this indicator is Edo Skills Development Agency (Edo Jobs)
However, with the slow pace at which the business environment reforms has been implemented in Nigeria since its introduction in 2016: PEBEC has collaborated with the World Bank to provide incentives to states to encourage the deepening of EoDB reforms implementation through the States Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) program.
