Jamaica is the best country to start business in Caribbean and Latin America

The Jamaican economy has been ranked fifth overall in a global study of the regulations and requirements necessary to start a business. The study – conducted by Reboot Digital Agency using data from the World Bank Group – found that Jamaica’s start-up economy has also improved over the past year.

Jamaica has been named as one of the best countries in which to found a business according to the British SEO firm. Reboot Digital Agency’s recent study analyzed 119 countries and ranked them on a number of criteria including the number of procedures (i.e., licenses and permits), the time it takes, and the costs for a small-medium sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in the country’s largest business city.

Jamaica came out in fifth place with a score of 97.3%, up 0.57 on the previous analysis. In the top spot this year was New Zealand with a near perfect score of 99.96, followed by Canada, Hong Kong, and Georgia. The rest of the top 10 was made up of Singapore, Australia, Ireland, South Korea, and Kosovo. 

Kingston has been dubbed the Caribbean’s leading tech and outsourcing hub, boasting a number of start-up initiatives and incubators. The Jamaican capital was recently named Nearshore City of the Year at the Nexus 2018 event held in San Francisco earlier this year. The award solidified Kingston’s status as the next king of outsourcing in the Caribbean. 

“Jamaica has been working at this for a long time, and we have one of the greatest BPO [sectors] in the world,” Claude Duncan, Vice President at JAMPRO Trade and Investments Jamaica said. “We are on a mission to let people know that Jamaica is more than tourism.”

The ranking drew on data accumulated in regards to the ease of which a business can be created, with regards to government red tape, costs, and procedures necessary. Business regulation is important because it can either discourage entrepreneurs to enter an country if too complex or promote a country “where the rules governing start-ups are accessible, transparent and predictable,” states the report.

“This, in turn, benefits the economy, boosts capital investment and job creation, and generates more choice for consumers. Proving the economic and political benefits of improved business regulation undeniable.” 

According to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2018 report, Jamaica has made “starting a business faster by reinstating next-day service for company incorporation.” The Caribbean nation has also made it easier for companies to trade across borders thanks to reducing compliance for importing and exporting by implementing a digital customs data management platform.

Shai Aharony, managing director of Reboot Digital Agency, comments: “[The data] hints we are heading toward a rich, multi-cultural time in business, which will no doubt encourage us to venture to areas anew, to start-up or network. Some may even argue it will become essential to do so. I’m sure we will see continued change in the sector as businesses reform and push beyond old boundaries.”

Related: Tudor Consultants to open BPO service center in Kingston, Jamaica.