Leasing is global financing alternative, says ELAN

Leasing business has been described as the new phase of financing, which provides access to capital equipment that had long created growth issues.

It is often argued that leasing thrives whether the economy is booming or in a recession. Equipment leasing globally, has been established as a creative financing alternative that facilitates access to capital equipment.

Meanwhile, the Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN) said it remains in the vanguard of the campaign for the use of equipment leasing to facilitate the achievement of developmental plans, amid efforts to pull the economy out of recession.

The Association, in its yearly review, noted that the whole essence of leasing is to enhance the planning, improvement and development of any economy by building and supporting productive ventures.

But speaking on the potential of leasing to the growth of the economy, ELAN’s Chairman, Chuka Onwuchekwa, pointed out that leasing has the capacity to drive the recovery and growth agenda of government.

He said: “The planned huge investment in infrastructure, agriculture, education and job creation, creates a wider scope for leasing in meeting the expected demand for capital equipment.

“Essentially, in achieving Government’s plans for self-sufficiency in food production for the nation, leasing can facilitate the provision of basic equipment for the entire agriculture value chain. Also, in the works and housing, transportation, health and education sectors, much can be achieved with leasing.

“Equally, leasing would help to mobilise access to the much needed equipment for productive ventures, more so when outright purchase is difficult, especially to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), thereby strengthening their capacity for wealth creation.”

According to Onwuchekwa, leasing has already contributed N4.83trillion to the economy in the last 15 years, with its impact pronounced in all sectors of the economy, enhancing capital formation, generating employment and creating wealth.

He said the emerging opportunities in the Nigerian economy given the ongoing recession are quite obvious, especially with the increasing difficulties of mobilising capital for outright purchase.

He therefore, called on government to continue to give the right support to leasing industry to enable it contribute maximally to economic development of the nation.