The documented dataset covers Enterprise Survey (ES) panel data collected in Lesotho in 2009 and 2016, as part of Africa Enterprise Surveys rollout, an initiative of the World Bank. The objective of the Enterprise Survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Enterprise Surveys target a sample consisting of longitudinal (panel) observations and new cross-sectional data. Panel firms are prioritized in the sample selection, comprising up to 50% of the sample in the current wave. For all panel firms, regardless of the sample, current eligibility or operating status is determined and included in panel datasets. Lesotho ES 2009 was conducted from September 2008 to February 2009, Lesotho ES 2016 was carried out in June August 2016. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews. Data from 301 establishments was analyzed: 90 businesses were from 2009 only, 89 from 2016 only, and 122 firms were from 2009 and 2016. The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs and labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90 percent of the questions objectively measure characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.
