At the top of the list was New Zealand as the easiest place to start a small and medium-sized enterprise in the world, which is one of the ten indicators used by the WB to assess the business environment in countries.

“This is the second consecutive year that New Zealand has come first for that particular indicator in the ranking. After registering a company name online, entrepreneurs can apply for tax-related accounts and incorporate the company at the same time,” reports allAfrica.com.

The survey examines 185 economies around the world  and assesses how easy it is to start a limited liability company. The report looks at how many steps are officially required or commonly done by entrepreneurs, as well as how many days it takes to go through the process. And, the report looks at cost and the minimum capital required, with zero percent of income per capita being best. The top ten best places to start a business are: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Macedonia, Hong Kong, Georgia, Rwanda, Belarus and Ireland.

The report found that in New Zealand, it takes only one step and one day to incorporate a company and entrepreneurs can apply for registration online. The process in New Zealand costs US$ 129 and does not have a minimum capital requirement.

The U.S., however, ranks 13th with six steps in order to start a business with no minimum capital.

In Rwanda it is easier to start a new business when compared to other countries in Africa. It’s free of charge to register a company in Rwanda if done online and the certificate is issued in just one to three days.

“Statistics at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) show that currently, registering a company takes an individual only six hours and a cost of Frw 15,000 for physical registration, while it is free if done online,” reports allAfrica.com.