The difficulties for companies to access bank financing, generally because they do not offer guarantees, have increased with the outbreak of the health crisis linked to the coronavirus. Through “Flash leasing”, Afriland first bank offers a new offer to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a view to increasing their sustainability and supporting their development.
According to the bank, nearly 90% of financing by leasing is mainly allocated for the acquisition of vehicles, while companies have the possibility of extending this financing for the purchase of other productive equipment, among others, the construction and equipment of factories.
Since the launch of this program in 2018, Afriland first bank (AFB) claims to have injected 65 billion FCFA to finance 423 companies which have allocated almost all of the funds mobilized for the purchase of rolling stock. However, the process of industrialization requires long-term financing for the expansion of SMEs seems more appropriate through leasing. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the leasing market in Cameroon is around 150 billion FCFA, far below its possibilities estimated at more than 400 billion FCFA.
By focusing on SMEs which constitute more than 90% of the country’s economic fabric for more than 35% of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Afriland first bank is examining a growth sector that could strengthen the leadership of this bank which, at 31 May 2021 had a turnover of 1,100 billion (about 2 billion dollars) including more than 700 billion in credit.
