In 2008, Yemen introduced a one-stop shop and cut paid-in minimum capital requirements to start a business. The new one-stop shop makes it possible to complete business start-up at a single location, easing the ability to obtain a license from the municipality and register with the chamber of commerce and tax office. This was one of the boldest reforms recorded in the joint IFC-World Bank Doing Business Report 2009, and resulted in Yemen advancing 25 positions in the global aggregate ranking.
In order to achieve more reforms in Yemen, IFC and the Doing Business team organized a conference in Yemen in February to discuss how to improve regulations in other areas such as business taxation, custom procedures, building permits, and land registration.
Participants in the conference included members from the public and private sectors who discussed how to improve the business environment in these four areas. The ideas and recommendations presented at the conference will be incorporated into an action plan for reform to further improve the ease of doing business in Yemen.
On the second day of the conference, IFC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Public Works to continue working on building permit reforms in order to introduce more efficient and transparent procedures. This project will begin in three districts of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and will then expand into other parts of the country.
These initiatives are part of a joint three-year program that was launched by IFC and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) to support Yemen’s efforts to improve its overall business environment, with the goal of creating jobs and reducing poverty in the country.
The program, which aims to support the growth of the private sector in one of the world’s poorest countries, received $14 million in funding from DFID. It will be implemented by the Yemeni government, IFC, and FIAS, the World Bank Group’s investment climate advisory service.
For further information, please contact:
Thomas Moullier, manager, Business Regulatory Reform and Doing Business Better programs
tmoullier@ifc.org
To learn more about IFC's advisory services programs in the region:
Business Regulatory Reform
Doing Business Better
