December 22, 2008 — Yemen has made some important business reforms this year. IFC and the U.K.’s Department for International Development are partnering to keep progress on track.
Yemen, an IDA country, is one of the world’s least-developed countries. Unemployment is estimated to be as high as 40 percent and nearly half the population lives on less than $2 a day. But the government is working to bring about change. It eliminated the minimum capital requirement for starting a business and launched a one-stop shop to make it easier for companies to get going.
To keep things moving, DFID has contributed $14 million to a three-year program, which will be implemented by the Yemeni government, IFC, and FIAS.
The goal: creating jobs and reducing poverty in the country.
Jesper Kjaer, General Manager of IFC Advisory Services in MENA, said, “Working jointly with DFID, the government, and the business community will help spur private sector growth in the country."
This builds on IFC Advisory Services efforts and is an integrated country program that holds promise for one of the region’s most challenging markets.
Our work will support the Yemeni government’s efforts to reduce constraints to private sector growth in several key areas, including:
Access to Finance:
Less than 3 percent of Yemenis have banks accounts today. To help fill the void, IFC will help increase access to finance for smaller businesses through leasing and microfinance programs.
Management Training:
Training entrepreneurs, with a special focus on women, through IFC’s management training tool, Business Edge. Business Edge builds a wide range of practical education and training skills, from accounting and personnel management to sales and marketing, to create more vigorous local economies.
Infrastructure:
Yemen has one of the lowest rates of electricity capacity per person in the region. Through this program, IFC will help the government mobilize private investment in the sector.
Investment Climate:
Excessive regulation and bureaucracy hold back private sector development, severely limiting the domestic entrepreneurship and foreign investment needed to create jobs and fight poverty. IFC’s response is to streamline and simplify the business environment in areas such as taxation, licensing, and business start-up procedures.
Industry Specific Assistance:
The country is working to build new sources of income to replace dwindling oil reserves. The program will identify investment constraints in the tourism and agribusiness sectors and help strengthen these sectors through targeted policy reforms.
For more information contact:
Riham Mustafa
Cairo, Egypt
E-mail: rmustafa@ifc.org
