Introduction to Lease Financing

August 22, 2019 - News

Enterprise Partners organized a two-day workshop on lease finance from Aug 14 – 15, 2019 at Magnolia Hotel, Addis Abeba. The objectives of the workshop, titled Introduction to leasing, were to build on knowledge on the flow of leasing transactions, key stakeholders for a leasing operation, the leasing legal framework, and accounting treatment for lessee and lessor. The workshop was designed to provide participants with advance knowledge on lease financing. The workshop was attended by eight banks including Abay Bank, Addis International Bank, Oromiya International Bank, Lion Bank, Zemen Bank, Dashen Bank, Nib Bank and Debub Global Bank.

Asfaw Abera, Licencing and Supervision of Lease Financing Head at National Bank of Ethiopia, presented a wide range of topics related to the legal and regulatory framework of leasing, financial statements and accounting treatment. The participants at the workshop participated in an interactive Q&A session on lease finance. They also discussed the accounting and tax treatment and the difference between loan and lease. At the end of the discussion, the current state of lease finance in Ethiopia was presented. ‘’Lease finance is currently at its infant stage of development and constitutes five capital good finance companies,’’ he said. The workshop was the ideal occasion for the banking sector to understand the concept of lease finance in Ethiopia. Participants also described the workshop as ‘informative’ saying it has been as an eye-opener regarding lease finance.