Abuja, Nigeria. September 24th, 2013 – 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. In view of this, NOIPolls in collaboration with DFID/ENABLE has been conducting a series of Business Leaders Perception Survey over the past few years in order to gauge the perceptions of Nigerian business leaders on the business environment with the aim of understanding the factors that are important to the success of business and those that make business difficult in the country. In order to explore the factors that affect the business environment and make business difficult, respondents were asked to indicate the factors that make doing business “very difficult”, “somewhat difficult”, “had room for improvement” or “was not a problem at all”. These were then scored as follows: 1 – not a problem; 2 – could be improved; 3 – makes doing business somewhat difficult; and 4 – makes doing business very difficult. Findings (figure 1) revealed that the major factor that makes business difficult in Nigeria is Power. This was consistent for all three years, however, the level of difficulty that power imposed on business decreased from 3.7 in 2009 to 3.4 in 2010 and increased to 3.5 in 2012. Corruption which was another factor that was identified for imposing difficulty on businesses continued to rise as the years progressed. The level of difficulty it imposed on business increased greatly from 1.1 in 2009 to 2.6 in 2010 and to 3.2 in 2012.
1 www.punchng.com
Figure 1: Factors that make business difficult (2009, 2010, and 2012)
Furthermore security and access to finance are other factors that make business difficult as identified by the respondents. While security increased from 2.4 in 2009 to 2.6 in 2010 and 3.2 in 2012, access to finance also increased from 2.5 in 2009 to 2.7 in 2010 to 3.1 in 2012. Road was another factor that was identified as factor that impose difficulty in business. The level of difficulty it imposed in business decreased in 2009 from 2.8 to 2.6 in 2010 and increased to 3.1 in 2012. Generally all the factors identified experienced varying level of deterioration from 2009 to 2012. Subsequently respondents were asked to rank the identified factors that make business difficult in order of priority (Figure 2). Ranking the factors that make business difficult in Nigeria revealed that power which topped the chart as the major factor that causes difficulty in 2009 and 2010 was ranked third in 2012. Road which was ranked second in 2009 became of less importance in the preceding years as it was ranked sixth in 2010 and 2012 . In addition corruption which was ranked third in 2009 became second in 2010 and became of priority in 2012 as it topped the chart. In addition, finance which was perceived to impose less difficulty in 2009 rose to third place in 2012. All factors with the same colour code on the graph were ranked equally in the respective years the survey was conducted.
Figure 2: Factors that make business difficult (2009, 2010, and 2012)
Furthermore security and access to finance are other factors that make business difficult as identified by the respondents. While security increased from 2.4 in 2009 to 2.6 in 2010 and 3.2 in 2012, access to finance also increased from 2.5 in 2009 to 2.7 in 2010 to 3.1 in 2012. Road was another factor that was identified as factor that impose difficulty in business. The level of difficulty it imposed in business decreased in 2009 from 2.8 to 2.6 in 2010 and increased to 3.1 in 2012. Generally all the factors identified experienced varying level of deterioration from 2009 to 2012. Subsequently respondents were asked to rank the identified factors that make business difficult in order of priority (Figure 2). Ranking the factors that make business difficult in Nigeria revealed that power which topped the chart as the major factor that causes difficulty in 2009 and 2010 was ranked third in 2012. Road which was ranked second in 2009 became of less importance in the preceding years as it was ranked sixth in 2010 and 2012 . In addition corruption which was ranked third in 2009 became second in 2010 and became of priority in 2012 as it topped the chart. In addition, finance which was perceived to impose less difficulty in 2009 rose to third place in 2012. All factors with the same colour code on the graph were ranked equally in the respective years the survey was conducted.
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. For more information on these surveys, send an email to enquiries@noi-polls.com. 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. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com
Opmerkingen