Data for this exercise were retrieved from the World Bankโs Enterprise Surveys, which use standard survey instruments to collect firm-level data on the business environment from business owners and top managers. The surveys cover a broad range of topics including access to finance, corruption, infrastructure, crime, competition, labor, obstacles to growth, and performance measures.
The above illustrates that Sole Proprietorships are the most common business type among the firms surveyed. Below is a breakdown of shares of business types surveyed by region. Close to 80 percent of businesses in the North are sole proprietorships compared with close to 60 percent in Accra.
Private commercial banks are the chief source of credit. Nonbank financial institutions are particularly important in the North, and state-owned banks or government agencies are important providers of credit to firms in the Accra and Tema.
When asked what the main obstacles to business was here is what firms across the 5 regions had to say:
Most enterprises list access to finance as a major barrier. Access to land is a more important constraint to firms in the North than elsewhere, and customs and trade regulations are barriers to firms in Accra where most export activity is likeliest to take place.