Ghana is the 4th Best Place to do Business in Africa, Says the World Bank
Ghana has been ranked as the fourth most business-ready economy in Africa in the World Bank’s 2025 Business Ready (B-READY) report, reaffirming the country’s improving investment climate and regulatory environment.
According to the report, Ghana placed behind Rwanda, Morocco and Mauritius, which ranked first, second and third respectively. Ghana, however, outperformed several regional peers, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Mali and Eswatini, which completed the continent’s top ten.
The B-READY 2025 report builds on the inaugural 2024 edition and assesses 101 economies globally. The study draws on inputs from nearly 5,000 local respondents worldwide, including legal practitioners, private sector operators and sector specialists.
The framework evaluates the full life cycle of a firm, with the aim of guiding reforms that support investment, innovation and job creation. Countries are assessed across three key pillars — Regulatory Framework, Public Services and Operational Efficiency — with numerical scores assigned to each pillar.
Based on overall performance, economies are grouped into quintiles, with the first quintile representing the strongest global performers.
Across Africa, most of the top ten economies fall within the third quintile globally. Rwanda stands out as the continent’s only first-quintile performer, driven largely by its strong showing in operational efficiency.
The report notes that Morocco and Mauritius also perform strongly, particularly in regulatory quality and public service delivery, reflecting robust legal and policy structures that support business formation and market competition.
Rwanda maintained its leadership position in Africa, scoring 71.47 points in operational efficiency — a performance that places it alongside advanced economies such as Canada and the United Kingdom. The country also topped Africa in the 2024 B-READY report, excelling across all three pillars.
This sustained performance, the World Bank notes, reflects Rwanda’s success in building a business-friendly environment that attracts investment and supports economic growth.
Morocco emerged as Africa’s strongest performer in regulatory frameworks, recording a score of 70.06, while Mauritius ranked among the leading countries for operational efficiency and public service delivery.
Other African economies, including Ghana, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Togo, Mali and Botswana, also recorded solid outcomes, ranking in the third quintile globally for regulatory quality or operational efficiency.
Despite these gains, the report highlights persistent challenges across the continent, particularly in public service delivery. Many African economies continue to lag behind global peers in operational efficiency and service provision, areas closely linked to income levels and productivity.
The World Bank notes that the B-READY findings underscore the impact of targeted reforms, even in lower-income economies. Countries that combine sound regulations with effective implementation, such as Rwanda and Morocco, are better positioned to attract investment, generate employment and support sustainable growth.
For Africa, the report concludes that while regulatory progress is evident, long-term success will depend on translating policy reforms into efficient, reliable public services that support private sector activity.
