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Juba, South Sudan, June 6, 2013 –
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced today the launch of its Africa Leasing Facility in South Sudan, which will work to lay the foundation for small business owners to grow their businesses through an increased ability to lease essential equipment.
Leasing is an innovative financing solution for Sub-Saharan Africa’s small enterprises which often lack the credit history or sufficient collateral required by most banks to finance the necessary equipment to heighten productivity.
Oumar Seydi, IFC Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said, “Countries looking to rebuild their economies stand to benefit greatly when equipment is more accessible to its small business owners, especially in the agricultural, health and infrastructure sectors. With the necessary financial tools available to them, South Sudan’s entrepreneurs have the capacity to make a tremendous impact on the economy and play an important role in the country’s future development.”
The announcement comes at a ceremony commemorating the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to begin work with the Bank of South Sudan and relevant parties to help facilitate leasing in South Sudan.
Bank of South Sudan Governor Kornelio Koriom Mayiek said, “A commercial banking system should not only be relevant to large businesses, but approachable to viable small business owners as well. Alternative financing options, such as leasing, must therefore be made available. Our partnership with IFC will help us lay the foundation for a sustainable leasing industry in South Sudan.”
IFC’s Africa Leasing Facility works to create a legislative and regulatory environment favorable for leasing, build capacity of leasing stakeholders, and mobilize investment in the continent’s leasing industry.
Over the past five years, IFC’s Africa Leasing Facility has trained more than 10,000 small business owners through almost 250 training sessions, assisted in the passage of 16 leasing legal, regulatory and tax laws and mobilized investment in five leasing projects worth almost $27 million. Previously active in 15 countries on the continent, the Facility will focus in the coming months and years on nine countries recovering from conflict, such as South Sudan.
Since 2013, the ALF has been implemented in partnership with Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden. Previous donor partners also include Austria, Denmark and Japan. For more information on IFC’s Africa Leasing Facility, please visit:
www.ifc.org/africaleasing
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South Sudan is one of eight countries supported by IFC’s Conflict Affected States in Africa Initiative, which is helping drive private sector growth, job creation, and increased investment in countries recovering from conflict. CASA is backed by donor partners Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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