The annual rankings rate every country in the world on how business friendly their regulatory frameworks are. This year, 'Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times' reports that Rwanda has made more progress than any other country, moving from 143 last year to 67 this year, whilst Sierra Leone has moved from 153 to 148.
Tony Blair, Founder of the Africa Governance Initiative, said: "This is a landmark achievement in the progress of a great country, which is becoming stronger by the day under the leadership of President Kagame. Despite the global economic situation, Rwanda has made more progress in expanding the capacity for private sector investment and growth than any other country.
"Rwanda can be proud that it is the first sub-Saharan African country to be named top global reformer by the World Bank - success which the President has every intention of building upon.
"Anyone considering where to invest should go to Rwanda and see the hugely significant progress President Kagame's government has made in recent years. With his zero tolerance approach to corruption, extra protection for investors and sustained economic growth, investors should sit up and take note of this African success story."
According to today's report:
It takes a Rwandan entrepreneur just two procedures and three days to set up a business
Imports and exports are more efficient, and transferring property takes less time thanks to a reorganised registry and statutory time limits
Investors have more protection, insolvency reorganisation has been streamlined, and a wider range of assets can be used as collateral to access credit
The key sectors currently leading growth in Rwanda are agri-processing, tourism, infrastructure, energy, banking and mining
Commenting on Sierra Leone's steady progress up the Doing Business rankings over recent years, Tony Blair, said: "This kind of improvement doesn't happen overnight. Under the leadership of President Koroma, the Government of Sierra Leone has made huge strides in this area. Sierra Leone is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for investment - something that will be demonstrated by the major Sierra Leone Investment Forum happening in London later this year.
"The President knows that the work must not stop here as he continues to strengthen Sierra Leone by improving infrastructure and expanding the private sector."
The Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) works closely with both the Government of Rwanda and the Government of Sierra Leone on strengthening good governance and promoting private sector development.
You can read 'Doing Business in 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times' here.
The work described here was carried out by the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative, it is now being continued by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.