State Registry Agency of Armenia: Improving Business Registration and Information Services

Starting a business in Armenia  in the late 2000s was a complicated process. Businessmen needed to go through a seven- to nine-step process that would take about 14  to 19 days to finish. It was no surprise that in terms of ease of doing business, Armenia ranked 82nd out of 125 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index and 94th out of 121 countries in the Business Competitiveness Index in 2006-2007.  To make the process of starting a business seamless, faster, and cheaper, Armenia  established a ‘one- stop shop' where business information and application services can take place. This reform reduced the length of the whole business application and registration process from 20 days to only three, significantly improving ease of doing business. In 2016, the World Bank's Doing Business report ranked Armenia as 35th out of 189 countries in terms of ease of doing business, three notches higher than its 2015 ranking. It also now ranks 5th globally in terms of ease in starting a business. 

This case study was developed by the Asian Institute of Management for the Asia Development Bank.