Work to improve the investment climate is recognized as a key pillar of efforts to promote economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. World Bank initiated Investment Climate Assessments provide a standardized way of measuring and comparing investment climate conditions in a country. Underpinning all ICAs is a standard core Productivity and Investment Climate Survey (PICS) instrument, which allows the identification of existing
conditions, the benchmarking of conditions to monitor changes over time, and the analysis of the impact of these conditions on firm-level performance. ICAs further employ a common structure and methodology to facilitate comparability
between countries. The objective of the South Africa Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in South Africa in all its operational dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of the many location-specific factors that shape the opportunities and incentives for firms to invest productively, create jobs, and expand. These factors include macroeconomic and regulatory policies; the security of property rights and the rule of law; and the quality of supporting institutions such as physical and financial infrastructure.