IFC, SECO Introduce African Leasing Association to Unlock US$80 Billion Market

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the official launch of Africalease, an association that will promote leasing in sub-Saharan Africa and help small businesses – transport to farmers or retailers – to access the financing they need to grow and create jobs.

The launch of Africalease took place during a regional conference on leasing organized in Accra by IFC and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The conference brought together leading experts and investors in the African leasing industry to discuss the potential $ 80 billion market for this sector.

Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa, Manager of the World Bank Group’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Unit, said, “Leasing provides African small businesses with the ability to acquire and operate equipment for their business. economic activity. Our Africa Leasing program, which facilitates financing of leasing, operates in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and has leveraged $ 257 million in investment in this sector, while building the capacity of 24,000 people, including representatives of governments, financial institutions and small business owners.

For Abdallah Benhamida, President of Africalease, “The regional market for equipment rental is ripe for investment, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, infrastructure, medical equipment and renewable energy. Africalease will work and do everything possible to build a coherent network to help unlock the region’s $ 80 billion potential

Although they create about 60 percent of jobs in developing economies, small businesses have difficulty accessing finance. Since 2008, IFC and SECO have been working to make the leasing industry viable and sustainable, so that this product is a reliable financing solution. During the Accra conference, IFC also launched the first manual on financing leasing equipment in Africa. The manual says the leasing market is currently worth $ 40 billion and should double.

IFC’s Africa Leasing worked from 2008 to the end of 2017 and helped promote leasing in Africa. The program will continue to support several initiatives. In this context, it will support the Africalease association, which brings together the main players in leasing to strengthen their collaboration and harmonize operations and regulations in this sector across the continent.