We (The Bahamas) now rank 119 out of 190? overall in the Doing Business 2017 from The World Bank.
In terms of getting electricity we rank 117. We are behind Iraq and Sudan on this score. (Perhaps the requirements of BPL to transfer a BEC account back to the name of the landlord or to the next tenant has something to do with this.)
In terms of registering property we are at 167 - definitely in the bottom section of the list
In terms of starting a business we are at 108 - behind Burkina Faso, Congo, Grenada, Liberia etc
The good news is that we are ahead of Syria and Haiti in all or almost all categories.
This could be the reason thousands of Syrians and Haitians are getting on rafts and rickety boats headed to Greece and the Bahamas.
The bad news is, if we keep on going down on this list, we will be competing with the Syrians and Haitians for that supply of rafts.
On the entrepreneurial side, there is probably an opportunity here for anyone in the raft-making business.
Leandra Esfakis
November 16, 2017
