Summary

Suriname, in its quest to improve the environment for enterprise development and increase productivity, requested the International Labour Organization (ILO) to conceptualize and execute the following Enabling Environment for Sustainable Enterprise (EESE) assessment, with a focus on the external factors affecting productivity. The survey examined the economic, social and political dimensions of the business environment and their perceived effect on productivity. Through the administration of surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews with business owners/managers, workers, government and trade union representatives, the research team from the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business and DOOR Advisory Services Limited was able to capture tripartite constituents’ general perceptions of the business environment and its potential effect on productivity in Suriname. Due to the timing of the study during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the team took the opportunity to explore the impact of the pandemics on the current business environment and its likely impact in the future. Some of the key findings from the survey are highlighted in this report