•Advocates leasing as financing alternative for acquisition of capital assets
Dike Onwuamaeze
The Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN) has stated that leasing has contributed more than N16 trillion to the Nigerian economy in the past 10 years.
The association also advocated for the utilisation of leasing as a creative financing alternative that would enhance capital formation in the Nigerian economy.
These were stated by the Chairman to ELAN, Ms. Elizabeth Ngozi Ehigiamusoe, in a statement titled, “ELAN Advocates Leasing for Propelling Economic Recovery and Growth,” that declared that “the contribution of leasing in the past 10 years is in excess of N16.3trillion and is becoming more relevant in our prevailing economic situation, especially to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), with increasing cost of productive assets.”
Ehigiamusoe added that, “leasing has over the years, gained significant global recognition as a creative financing alternative for the acquisition of capital assets.”
She explained that the whole essence of leasing was to enhance the planning, improvement and development of any economy by building and supporting productive ventures.
According to her, leasing had been supporting economic development since its inception in the country.
“Today, the impact of leasing is pronounced in all sectors of the economy, enhancing capital formation, generating employment and creating wealth.
“Leasing can play a major role in the actualisation of the economic agenda of the present administration, to stimulate growth, and with the current economic realities, leasing can do much more for every stakeholder.
“The fact that leasing facilitates long and convenient access to capital equipment goes to show the unique role of leasing in building and supporting productive ventures,” she said.
The chairman of ELAN added that the unique attributes of leasing would be the main focus of conversations that would be held at the 21st National Lease Conference of the association.
She described the conference, billed to hold in November, as the biggest gathering of stakeholders in the leasing industry and a platform for brainstorming on issues pertinent to the development of leasing in Nigeria and the economy at large.
She said: “The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Propelling Economic Recovery and Growth: The Leasing Initiative.’
“The conference is packaged to analyse the imperative of equipment leasing to the attainment of the economic agenda of government. Essentially, it is expected to further entrench the ideals of leasing to developmental initiatives, explore the emerging opportunities for the industry, and facilitate business networking and investment.”
The event, according to her, was expected to assemble stakeholders from within and outside the leasing industry including leasing professionals, organised private sector, financial institutions, investors (both local and foreign), equipment vendors, service providers, professional firms, government’s MDAs etc, with renowned experts discussing “relevant topics that would further engender the contributions of leasing to the development of the Nigerian economy.
She, therefore, called on all relevant stakeholders to be “part of this great event to leverage business networking opportunities, leasing value propositions and market dynamics, reiterating that the conference offers a veritable platform to further enhance corporate visibility and get partners more connected to their target markets.”
