Africa's top 10 countries for businesses and entrepreneurs

Africa’s second largest economy South Africa, Arab-inclined Morocco and Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, are according to a new analysis the top countries on the African continent for businesses and entrepreneurs.

The study, conducted by research consultants at Forbes, took 15 different country factors under scrutiny to measure the ‘business friendliness’ of an economy. The analysis assessed factors such as  degree of innovation, infrastructure, market size, political risk, quality of life, workforce, technology landscape, but also other business factors including property rights, taxes, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape and investor protection. To populate its dataset, input was sourced from the likes of the CIA, Heritage Foundation, United Nations, World Economic Forum and World Bank. 

Despite Brexit looming around the corner and the uncertainty surrounding its impact on trade and business, the United Kingdom ranked first for the second straight year on the back of its strong workforce, innovation and infrastructure. Sweden and Hong Kong Kong complete the top 3, with the Netherlands and New Zealand rounding off the top five. Canada, Denmark, Singapore, Australia and Switzerland all rank among the globe’s top 10 countries for businesses and entrepreneurs. 

The first African country to rank on the prestigious is South Africa, which finds itself in the 59th position. The country with a population of around 57 million inhabitants edges Morocco, a North African country with a population of 35 million generating roughly a third of South Africa’s economic output. Seychelles, Tunisia and Botswana complete Africa’s top 5 nations for doing business.

Across the board, the researchers found that doing business in Africa is on the rise – attributed to advancements realised in infrastructure and growth in education. In addition, they highlight that there are signs that corruption on the continent is being confined, with stronger leadership on the continent enabling better decision-making for public and private services.

Africa's top 10 countries for doing businesses:

South Africa
Capital: Cape Town
Largest city: Johannesburg
Population: 57 million
Economy: GDP = $371 billion. GDP per capita = $6,459

Morocco
Capital: Rabat
Largest city: Casablanca
Population: 35 million
Economy: GDP = $122 billion. GDP per capita = $3,441

Seychelles
Capital: Victoria
Largest city: Victoria
Population: 97,000
Economy: GDP = $1.5 billion. GDP per capita = $16,332

Tunisia
Capital: Tunis
Largest city: Tunis
Population: 11.5 million
Economy: GDP = $42 billion. GDP per capita = $3,587

Botswana
Capital: Gaborone
Largest city: Gaborone
Population: 2.3 million
Economy: GDP = $18 billion. GDP per capita = $8,443

Rwanda
Capital: Kigali
Largest city: Kigali
Population: 12 million
Economy: GDP = $9 billion. GDP per capita = $754

Kenya
Capital: Nairobi
Largest city: Nairobi
Population: 51 million
Economy: GDP = $80 billion. GDP per capita = $1,790

Ghana
Capital: Accra
Largest city: Accra
Population: 30 million
Economy: GDP = $47 billion. GDP per capita = $2,081

Egypt
Capital: Cairo
Largest city: Cairo
Population: 98 million
Economy: GDP = $237 billion. GDP per capita = $3,005

Namibia
Capital: Windhoek
Largest city: Windhoek
Population: 2.4 million
Economy: GDP = $12.6 billion. GDP per capita = $5,073