Doing Business
Business Ready (B-READY) is a World Bank Group public-good initiative that annually assesses regulatory frameworks and public services directed at firms across approximately 170 economies, serving governments, researchers, and policy analysts with free reports, data, and methodology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1944
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Doing Business does
Business Ready (B-READY) is a World Bank Group initiative, operating under the DBA "Business Ready (B-READY)" and previously known as "Doing Business," that assesses the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms across approximately 170 economies worldwide. The core product is an annual assessment report, supported by a B-READY Manual and Guide (covering end-to-end production protocols and safeguards) and a B-READY Methodology Handbook (detailing topic-by-topic measurement methodology). The framework evaluates ten fixed domains: Business Entry, Utility Services, Business Location, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency, and is tightly linked with the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES), which provide complementary firm-level data.
The underlying platform is a web-based global assessment framework and database maintained by the World Bank Group's Policy Indicators Group (under Director Norman Loayza) and Global Indicators Group (under Manager Valeria Perotti). B-READy's distinguishing technical features include a combined regulatory-and-efficiency assessment design and a public reproducibility package that allows external validation of findings, distinguishing it from prior private-sector benchmarking products.
B-READY operates as a public good rather than a commercial business. All reports, data, methodology handbooks, and reproducibility packages are provided free of charge, distributed through the World Bank Open Knowledge Repository and a multilingual portal (Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish). It is funded through World Bank institutional funding rather than customer revenue, with go-to-motion centered on event-driven and community-led dissemination: public report releases, the World Bank's global network and country offices, direct engagement with governments, and a Global Contributors program serving a primary customer base of national and subnational governments, with secondary usage by academic researchers, think tanks, and policy analysts.
Doing Business firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Doing Business
- Legal name
- The World Bank Group
- Website
- https://doingbusiness.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1944
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Business Ready (B-READY) is a World Bank Group public-good initiative that annually assesses regulatory frameworks and public services directed at firms across approximately 170 economies, serving governments, researchers, and policy analysts with free reports, data, and methodology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Doing Business is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Doing Business business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Public Good: B-READY is a public good initiative of the World Bank Group, providing free access to assessment data, methodology, and reports. It is funded through World Bank institutional funding rather than revenue generation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free public access to all resources |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Doing Business product offering
Product offeringCore offering
B-READY is a global assessment framework and report that evaluates the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms across approximately 170 economies, measuring the efficiency with which regulatory frameworks and public services are combined in practice. The core deliverable is the annual B-READY report, supported by the B-READY Manual and Guide and the B-READY Methodology Handbook covering ten standardized topic areas. All outputs are provided as a free public good through the World Bank Group's open access platforms.
Product overview
Business Ready (B-READY) is a unified assessment platform and report that evaluates regulatory frameworks and public services across approximately 170 economies worldwide. The core product is the B-READY report, which is supported by the B-READY Manual and Guide (documenting production protocols) and the B-READY Methodology Handbook (detailing measurement methodology by topic). The offering covers ten topic areas: Business Entry, Utility Services, Business Location, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency. Related to this framework is the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES), which provides complementary firm-level data. The portfolio functions as a single integrated assessment system rather than a modular software platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Business Ready (B-READY) 2025 Report An annual assessment report that evaluates the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms, measuring the efficiency with which regulatory frameworks and public services are combined in practice across approximately 170 economies worldwide. Provided as a free public good by the World Bank Group.
- B-READY Manual and Guide Documentation covering the protocols, processes, safeguards, and resources related to the end-to-end production of the B-READY data and reports. Made available free of charge as a public good through the World Bank's open access platforms.
- B-READY Methodology Handbook (Edition 2) Detailed measurement methodology document covering all topics assessed by the B-READY project, including Business Entry, Utility Services, Business Location, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency. Provided free of charge as a public good.
- B-READY Data and Reproducibility Package Downloadable data and reproducibility package for the B-READY assessment framework, allowing users to access all underlying data and replicate study findings. Available globally at no cost through the World Bank's open access platforms.
Quantifiable outcome
- Coverage of approximately 170 economies worldwide
Companies that use Doing Business
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Doing Business technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Doing Business partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES)coreB-READY is closely linked with the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, which provide the world's most comprehensive, comparable, and representative firm-level data with global coverage. The projects complement each other, with B-READY assessing regulatory frameworks while WBES provides firm-level data on business conditions.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Doing Business competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- International Finance Corporation (IFC): The IFC, part of the World Bank Group, focuses on private-sector development in emerging markets and publishes related Doing Business–style investment climate diagnostics, making it a closely related peer within the same parent institution.
- OECD: The OECD publishes a wide range of economic and regulatory indicators (e.g., Product Market Regulation, Going for Growth) that overlap with B-READy's benchmarking of business regulatory frameworks, especially across OECD member economies.
- Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): The EIU publishes proprietary country risk and business environment rankings used extensively by investors and governments, serving as a private-sector analogue to B-READy's public-good benchmarking model.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF): The IMF produces a parallel set of country surveillance products (e.g., Article IV consultations, World Economic Outlook) that benchmark macroeconomic and structural conditions across economies, making it a direct analogue to B-READy's cross-country diagnostic role.
- World Economic Forum (WEF): The WEF's Global Competitiveness Report historically competed directly with Doing Business and now publishes related competitiveness and transition indexes; it remains a near-substitute for B-READY's country-level business environment scoring.
- UNCTAD: UNCTAD produces cross-country indicators on investment, trade, and business environment conditions for developing economies, overlapping with B-READy's coverage of international trade, business entry, and financial services topics.
Emerging players
- Heritage Foundation (Index of Economic Freedom): Heritage's Index of Economic Freedom is one of the longest-running private cross-country indices ranking regulatory and economic openness, directly overlapping with B-READy's regulatory assessment and frequently cited alongside the World Bank's work.
- Fraser Institute (Economic Freedom of the World): Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World report provides an academic, methodology-driven ranking of regulatory and institutional quality across jurisdictions, competing for the same policy-research audience as B-READY.
- Transparency International (Corruption Perceptions Index): Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index is one of the most-cited cross-country governance rankings and overlaps with B-READy's broader regulatory and public-services assessment.
- World Justice Project (Rule of Law Index): The World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index benchmarks governance and dispute resolution across countries, overlapping directly with B-READy's Dispute Resolution and Market Competition topic areas.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Doing Business social profiles
Digital presenceDoing Business financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Doing Business leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Doing Business funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Doing Business M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Doing Business
What does Doing Business do?
B-READY is a global assessment framework and report that evaluates the regulatory framework and public services directed at firms across approximately 170 economies, measuring the efficiency with which regulatory frameworks and public services are combined in practice. The core deliverable is the annual B-READY report, supported by the B-READY Manual and Guide and the B-READY Methodology Handbook covering ten standardized topic areas. All outputs are provided as a free public good through the World Bank Group's open access platforms.
Is Doing Business a public or private company?
Doing Business is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Doing Business founded?
Doing Business was founded in 1944. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Doing Business based?
Doing Business is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Doing Business make money?
One revenue line is on record: public Good.
Who are Doing Business's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are International Finance Corporation (IFC), OECD, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Forum (WEF) and UNCTAD. Emerging players are Heritage Foundation (Index of Economic Freedom), Fraser Institute (Economic Freedom of the World), Transparency International (Corruption Perceptions Index) and World Justice Project (Rule of Law Index).
Does Doing Business have an API?
No public API is recorded for Doing Business.