FAO advises Africa to simplify requirements for business licenses

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has advised African countries to simplify requirements for business licenses, offer tax incentives and tackle official corruption.

This is contained in FAO’s new publication on Formalization of Informal Trade in Africa.
The UN agricultural agency said informal cross-border trade, often agricultural, was the result of poor access to government offices, a lack of administrative skills and improper understanding of import and custom-tax laws.

One of the main groups that would be affected by formalisation is women, who constitute the largest share of informal traders – about 70 per cent in Southern Africa and more than half in other parts, according to the report.

The publication was presented on Thursday at a conference in Kigali, Rwanda, as part of ongoing FAO-supported work in the country, along with UN Women and other development partners.

The conference was aimed at enabling women to benefit more from agri-food chains, a project geared to allowing women small traders access useful information as well as start-up capital, FAO said.