ETHIOPIA – Ethio Lease, Ethiopia’s first privately-held and foreign-owned equipment leasing company has presented 85 combine harvesters to small-holder farmers in the country including 10 to Ethiopian Agricultural Business Corporation (EABC).
The machines issued, represent more than US$16 million in investment and are aimed to benefit about 180,000 smallholder farmers, reduce harvest losses to the tune of US$66 million per annum, and create 850 direct and 34,000 indirect jobs.
“The equipment delivered here will be of paramount importance to our farmers and generate new economic activity for Ethiopia, by increasing efficiency and yield in Ethiopia’s harvest and bolstering the fight against the locust swarms that the country continues to face today,” said Ethio Lease CEO Girum Tsegaye.
Since it commenced operations in Ethiopia in August 2019, Ethio Lease has endeavoured to improve farming mechanization in the country.
According to Girum, these latest harvester deliveries will create a significant impact, both boosting productivity and mitigating the losses generated by more traditional farming practices and unforeseen environmental issues like the locusts.
“These combine harvesters will produce more than half a million tons of barley and wheat per annum, with an annual local market value of US$225 million. That is enough to bake two billion loaves of bread,” Degol Gossaye, VP Marketing and Sales of Ethio Lease said.
Ethio Lease received a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia to operate a leasing company in July of 2019, becoming the first foreign-owned entity to be granted a financial services license in the country.
“The equipment delivered here will be of paramount importance to our farmers and generate new economic activity for Ethiopia.”
Ethio Lease CEO – Girum Tsegaye
The company provides bespoke equipment financing and a wide range of leasing services for multiple sectors including agriculture, healthcare, energy, food and coffee processing, and manufacturing, among other verticals.
It buys and imports equipment and oversees maintenance and proper use throughout its lease period.
To date, the company has signed leasing agreements with more than 100 customers for more than 200 equipment units of various types.
Ethio is a subsidiary company of African Asset Finance Company (AAFC), which was launched in 2017 to address Africa’s underserved market for equipment leasing and asset-backed lending, with Ethiopia as its first market.
Headquartered in New York, and with offices in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, AAFC is rapidly expanding its offerings to several other markets across the African continent.
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