Business Environment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Status and Developments

The business environment is one of the key determinants for the choice of the market entry form and, thus, the go-to-market approach of international companies. It, therefore, drives the business model design of all active companies in the respective markets. The situation in the business conditions across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is very heterogenous, however, mostly on a low level by international standards. In the past few years, African countries have embarked on a dynamic journey of improving their business environment, increasingly facilitating business operations. Despite these positive developments in the business environment, like more efficient customs clearing processes and improving governance, in Sub-Saharan Africa, local and international companies still need to find operational work-arounds and often require business model adaptation to deal with challenges arising from the business environment.