Provincial Facilitation for Investment and Trade Index: Gender Analysis for Measuring Economic Governance for Business Development in the Lao People's

This report, the first of its kind, provides a comparative picture of the experiences and perceptions of the business community in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) in complying with government regulations by gender.

It presents the findings of the second Provincial Facilitation for Investment and Trade (ProFIT) survey in the Lao PDR that shed light on women's participation in economic activities and the constraints that women entrepreneurs face in doing business. It notes that women entrepreneurs reported that their business registration takes longer and costs more. The report urges the government to train staff to overcome hidden gender biases and make it easier for women to create and run businesses.