Namibia has the best environment for entrepreneurs in Africa, says report

According to the inaugural Ashish J Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index, Namibia has the best environment for entrepreneurs in Africa, ahead of Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, which are considered more prominent markets.

The index, developed by Mara Foundation and Opinium Research, measured entrepreneurial environments in 85 countries, assessing them against a set of criteria that spans policy, infrastructure, education, entrepreneurial environment and finance.

Of all the African countries in the index, Namibia came out tops (and 42nd overall), with Rwanda, Botswana, South Africa and Zambia following in that order.

Namibia and Botswana are stronger on the education pillar out of the top three African countries in the Index. This is due to comparatively higher levels of literacy and quality in education.

In the policy and finance pillar, Rwanda has a high score, which is as a result of government initiatives to increase the ease of doing business – credit is easily available and business transparency is high.

Zambia, with a score of 72, did particularly well on the Finance Pillar. This is chiefly due to the availability of credit and a low total tax rate.

Also, this score places Zambia in the top 10 of all countries globally on the Finance Pillar, just behind the USA, which has 78.

South Africa and Rwanda, among the top 3 countries in Africa on the Finance pillar, have a score of 66 and 65 respectively, doing better than countries such as Norway and Finland.

While these are encouraging numbers, Africa still lags behind other continents, getting an average index score of 166, which is the lowest. Reasons for this include political stability, underdeveloped infrastructure, poor education and under-diversied economies.

“Entrepreneurs are a great engine for development. In Africa, you need to encourage and create the right environment for their success. I really wish to congratulate The Mara Foundation for developing its important index which is a useful tool for all of us,” said Mo Ibrahim, founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Executive Director, Mara Foundation, Rona Kotecha said, “The Ashish J. Thakkar Global Entrepreneurship Index offers a powerful insight into various elements that impact entrepreneurship globally,”

She added, “Whilst Mara Mentor enables and empowers entrepreneurs, the Index and its 20 policy recommendations are designed to provide a starting point for changes that can be implemented to create more effective entrepreneurial environments. This, in turn, will lead to job creation and a positive impact on economies around the world.”

The index features a special ‘Focus on Africa’ section, with a deeper look at ‘women in the workplace’ and ‘youth unemployment’. To get the full report, click here.