*Power, security, corruption & access to finance top list
24 September 2013, Abuja, Nigeria – A 3-year trended result from the Business Leaders Perception Survey, BLPS, conducted by NOIPolls in 2009, 2010 and 2012 has revealed that the most critical factors limiting Nigerian businesses are power, security, corruption and access to finance. In addition, other factors identified from the studies include roads, water, multiple taxes and smuggling, that also make doing business difficult in Nigeria. These are the key findings from the Business Leaders Perception Survey (BLPS) conducted by NOIPolls in collaboration with the DFID Nigeria Programme – Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment, ENABLE.
According to the World Bank “Doing Business Report” 2013, Nigeria ranks 131st on the list of 185 countries in terms of ease of doing business. The report explains the ranking of economies on the basis of how easy it is to undertake business activities, from 1 – 183. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to start and operate a local business. This index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are then benchmarked to the previous year1. The indicators used in ranking the economies include: ease of starting a business, dealing with permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, paying taxes and protecting investors amongst others.
The Nigerian business environment has been associated with several factors limiting business operations and hindering the ability of businesses to thrive compared to their counterparts in other business environments. While it is common knowledge that improvements in the enabling environment can lead to higher investments, wealth generation, job creation and ultimately poverty reduction; however, improving the business environment is not always an easy endeavour. It requires cooperation and dialogue between the public and private sector. To make the biggest impact, government and the organised private sector need to work together in order to understand and prioritise the factors limiting business success in the economy.
Results from this Business Leaders Perception Survey conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2012 show that the most critical factors limiting business success in Nigeria are power, security, corruption and access to finance. All factors with the same colour code on the graph above were ranked equally in the respective years the survey was conducted. It is therefore vital that economic reforms and interventions aimed at enhancing an enabling business environment need to be hinged on addressing these critical factors identified from the studies. Consequently, following media reports on the on-going power sector reform and the current security & intelligence strides, as well as the recent access-to-credit interventions reeled out by the CBN amongst others; it appears “Corruption” remains the fourth critical factor requiring more concerted efforts.
Survey Methods
The fieldwork and analysis for this study were undertaken in 2009, 2010 and 2012. The sample consisted of senior to mid-level executives in Nigerian businesses; cutting across Micro, Small, Medium and Large organisations. The sample population comprised 1000 businesses covering various sectors of the economy and locations.
NOIPolls is the No. 1 for country-specific polling services in the West African region, which works in technical partnership with the Gallup Organisation (USA), to conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria.
*Press statement