Business Leader Perception Surveys

The World Bank asserts that improvements in the enabling environment lead to greater levels of investment by the private sector, more wealth and job creation, and ultimately more poverty alleviation. The best way for government to understand how to improve the enabling environment is to involve the private sector through consultation and dialogue. It is important, however, to understand how the private sector sees the enabling environment. Perception and reality may differ, but it is perceptions that influence the way that people act. Having an understanding of business perceptions may not only convince policy makers that more needs to be done but also, particularly where there is a big gap, provide clues to the government about how to communicate messages about reality. With support from TradeMark East Africa and then from BEST-AC and BEST Dialogue, and with excellent local field teams, I undertook regular surveys of business leaders in Tanzania and occasional surveys in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Business leaders were asked about

• The enabling environment factors that are important to their business;
• The factors that make it difficult to do business;
• The non-tariff barriers that are important to their business;
• The non-tariff barriers that make it difficult to do business;
• Their perception of whether, and if so, how, government is addressing each factor;
• Their view of whether each factor would be likely to deter future investment; and
• Their assessment of the costs involved in meeting the requirement of regulation and red tape

Business Leader Perception Surveys, Tanzania (2008-2018)

Business Leader Perception Surveys, Nigeria (2009-2010)

Business Leader Perception Surveys, Zimbabwe (2011)

IGA acted as sub-contractor to the Southa African based Imani Development, in turn supporting DAI's Zimbabwe Agricultural Competitiveness Program. I advised in several areas including surveying agri-businesses to assess tehir perceptions of the enabling environment and to assess the likely demand for capacity building support.

Business Leader Perception Surveys, Kenya (2008)

The first series of business leader perception surveys covered Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with an individual report published for Kenya.