The Business Ready 2025 report, also known as B-Ready and published at the end of December by the World Bank, confirms a major trend for the continent's economy: Rwanda remains the African country with the best business climate. This new barometer, which succeeded the Doing Business ranking suspended in 2021, is based on a particularly rigorous methodology. The study relies on a large-scale survey of 58,000 businesses and 5,000 experts across 101 economies worldwide. Its objective is to assess the investment climate by combining theoretical regulatory measures, known as de jure, with actual practices observed on the ground, known as de facto.

The B-Ready framework is structured around ten specific areas that cover the entire lifecycle of a business, from its creation to a potential insolvency situation. The analysis is based on three inseparable pillars: the regulatory framework, the quality of public services, and operational efficiency. For this 2025 edition, the African sample has expanded considerably, with 29 countries assessed, 14 more than the previous year, now including nations such as Benin, Senegal, Tunisia, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Looking at the performance details, Rwanda maintains its leading position with an overall score of 67.94 points. This result is driven by excellent scores in regulatory framework and operational efficiency, exceeding 70 points for both criteria, although the score for the quality of public services remains more modest at 59.81 points. Following Rwanda, Morocco occupies second place on the continent with 63.44 points, narrowly ahead of Mauritius and Togo. This year is also marked by the rise of new entrants, as Benin and Senegal manage to climb into the select circle of the African Top 10, occupying 5th and 9th positions respectively, while Côte d'Ivoire maintains its 10th position.

However, behind these individual successes, the World Bank report highlights a worrying African paradox. Experts point out that the countries facing the most urgent need to create jobs to reduce youth unemployment are paradoxically those with the weakest business climates. Sub-Saharan Africa, with its extremely young workforce, thus remains particularly vulnerable to the economic risks associated with a challenging entrepreneurial environment, a finding also echoed by the Ecofin Agency as a major challenge for the years to come.