Business Ready (B-READY) is a new data collection and analysis project of the World Bank Group to assess the business and investment climate worldwide, accompanied by an annual corporate flagship report.
- It is a key instrument of the World Bank Group’s new strategy to facilitate private investment, generate employment, and improve productivity to help economies accelerate development in inclusive and sustainable ways.
- All topics examined by B-READY are structured under three pillars: (I) Regulatory Framework, (II) Public Services, and (III) Operational Efficiency.
- It replaces and improves upon the World Bank Group’s earlier Doing Business project.
Differences between B-READY and Doing Business project
- While the focus of the Doing Business project was on assessing the business environment for small and medium enterprises, the B-READY project targets private sector development as a whole.
- Doing Business centered on the regulatory burden for firms, with some attention to public services.
- In contrast, B-READY evaluates the regulatory burden as well as the quality of regulations and provision of related public services, along with the ease of compliance with the regulatory framework and the effective use of public services directly relevant to firms.
B-READY 2024 report
- The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.
- Although the B-READY rankings commenced in 2024, India will only participate in the exercise in 2026.
- The first set of rankings feature 50 countries, with the 2025 report covering 120 economies and the 2026 version having rankings on 180 economies.
- In the Regulatory Framework pillar, Hungary leads with a score of 78.23 points. In the Public Services pillar, Estonia emerges as the top performer, with a score of 73.31 points. In the Operational Efficiency pillar, Singapore stands out as the top performer, with a score of 87.33 points.
