Starting a Business in Saudi Arabia
Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad, Deputy Governor of the General Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia describes how Saudi Arabia eliminated the minimum capital requirement in just four months, reversing the common belief that dropping the minimum capital requirement entails years of legal procedures and debates. The country also cut other start-up formalities, decreasing the number of procedures from 13 to seven. In one year, the country’s rank in the ease of starting a business soared from 159 to 36 in Doing Business 2008. New business registrations jumped 81 percent. The author focuses on three key lessons: (1) Disregard the argument that this is the way it was always done, and go for quick wins to create momentum; (2) Use a results-based incentive system, with credit for the ones that deliver; and (3) Use facts to build coalitions and speed up the process.Download full report (PDF, 70KB)