Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs is a World Bank Group report which measures the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.

“Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency”, explains the publication.
Costa Rica ranked in position 61 among 190 nations and it’s the fourth best in Latin America and the Caribbean, behind Mexico (49), Peru (58) and Colombia (59).

Costa Rica ranked well in areas such as getting credit, getting electricity and registering a property; however, there are three main areas where the country received low scores which are: starting a business (position 127), enforcing contracts (129) and resolving insolvency (131).

Although indicators show that the country has improved slightly in the past year, efforts must continue to make it simpler for small and medium entrepreneurs to start a business.

“Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to start a business in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time, the cost and the paid-in minimum capital requirement”, states the report.

According to the president of the Costa Rican Chambers and the Association Union of the Private Business Sector (Uccaep), Franco Pacheco, “Uccaep has indicated that to open or start a business in Costa Rica and operate as a formal business and within the legal frame, is getting more and more complex. In the last survey carried out by Pulso Empresarial, when asked “how hard is it to open a new business in Costa Rica”, 75% assured it was hard or very hard, and 65% affirmed there is a high cost involved to complete all requirements to formalize a business”.

“Efforts of the Costa Rican Government through the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce to advance to better positions, require the commitment of Congress to apply changes to the laws to improve in the indicators that the country is left behind, the work of the Local Governments is also required to coordinate the regulations in an interinstitutional way”, affirms the press release sent out by the Government.