Microfinance institutions tipped on leasing

Micro-finance institutions have been urged to embrace micro-leasing to stimulate entrepreneurial activity among depositors. The move would also serve better the needs of the underserved masses, said Delphin Ngamije, the managing director of Duterimbere IMF S.A, a local women’s financial institution.“Micro-leasing enables micro-finance institutions to create products that best suit customer needs and encourages other people to join business,” Ngamije noted during a recent workshop in Kigali.“It is even more secure for the clients and micro-finance institutions because a customer is not required to present any collateral to get a lease loan,” Ngamije explained.Sector stakeholders were, however, concerned that the 2010 leasing law has not yet come into force. They said this has negatively affected the sector’s growth.“We are optimistic that once implemented, it will improve access to micro-leasing, enabling SMEs to grow.”Duterimbere IMF S.A and Umutanguha are the only micro-finance institutions that provide the product.The first leasing products were introduced in 2008, when commercial banks like Fina Bank and I&M Bank Rwanda entered the market. By the end of 2011, the leasing market represented about $60m or 1 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.