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Micro Leasing: Therapy For Ailing Economy

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Micro Leasing, as the name connotes, is another form of leasing that involves little capital and equipment. It also involves the lessee, lessor and the vendor. With it, little capital is often required.
It could also be called a Small Scale Enterprises Leasing. One of the problems of small scale enterprises is their inability to attract capital.
The current trend is that, there is an attraction towards big ticket leases with focus on oil and gas industries, blue chip manufacturing companies and the telecommunication companies. Small scale enterprises are in a difficult situation especially in developing economies.
Financing problems constitute one of the bottlenecks encountered by the small and medium-scale enterprises in developing countries, including Nigeria.
Banks and most big lenders offer mainly short-term financing which is not suitable to small enterprises. To make matters worse, they demand collaterals for their loans and other forms of financing.
These problems have limited the access of small-scale enterprises to capital and other credit facilities. No doubt, robust economic development cannot be achieved without putting in place programmes that would create employment to reduce poverty among the populace especially the growing number of graduates.
Micro finance is about providing finance to the lower level of fund users, who are traditionally not served by the conventional lending institutions. These categories of fund users who constitute 75 per cent of the borrowing public, operate in the informal sector and therefore are at disadvantage when it comes to sourcing funds needed to operate their small business.
Government in the past had tried to address this imbalance when it floated the defunct small finance house like the Federal Saving Bank and the Peoples Bank, among others.
Unfortunately, these institutions could not address the need of this class borrowers due to potential interference in the affairs of the institutions.
To fill the funding gap, many micro finance institutions have come in form of local and foreign aided Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Their number have increased significantly in recent times, due to persistent demand.
No doubt, the emergence of these institutions will stimulate lending to small enterprises, that are managedoperated mainly by the low income populace.
First, the rate of failure of small business is very high. It is also, a game of numbers becanuse the more they are, the greater the risk of default, hence leasing companies are distrubed by this problem facing micro leasing.
Secondly, visible leasing depends, to great extent, unlike other kinds of financing, on accurate appraisals of the markets for lessee’s products and services.
Lessee self assessment alone is inadequate particularly given the propensity of small enterprises-dominated trades to be swamped by excessive new entrants. Sound appraisal of small-scale business sectors requires specialised knowledge and skills and most financing institutions servicing the small enterprises market are not particularly familiar with these markets.
Successful leasing is based on the possibility of calculating and structuring lease installments, in such a way that the fair market value of the lease asset remains at time above the amount the lessee would need to pay in order to purchase the asset from the lessor.
This calls for high level of skill and knowledge about the equipment. Thirdly, administering large numbers of small value contracts generates high overheads, monitoring business performance in order to anticipate and preempt repayment problems which can prove costly, depending on the management information systems in place.
Fourthly, for security reasons and effectiveness, lessors prefer to lease items that are easy to move.
This, unfortunately also makes assets more prone to threft or absconding by the lessee. In practice, lessors need additional forms of guarantee for contacts with small enterprises.
Moreso, the market research capacity of most enterprises is limited.
Therefore, when they want to invest in new equipment they are often not fully aware of the full costs, sales volumes and market available.
Since the leasing company also has an interest in seeing the leased assets used to their full capacity, research into the markets for the leased equipment should not be left to the small enterprises alone, and the fact remains that most of the leasing companies are really for this kind of research for small ticket leases.
Finally, most of the small scale enterprises are untested. They do not have enough resources to pay for the services of professionals, and for this reason, leasing firms are always willing to deal with a well structured organisation with good records keeping and credits history.

 

Bethel Toby

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Eazipay  Offers Zero-Interest Loans To  150,000 SMEs, Employees

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With a mission to ignite growth, encourage business continuity and help businesses and employees thrive, Eazipay is gearing up to propel the dreams of 150,000 SMEs and employees to new heights through her relief fund.
Gone are the days of financial constraints and stifled dreams. With Eazipay’s support, SMEs and employees alike can bid farewell to limitations and embrace a world of endless possibilities.
Whether it’s start up,  business expansion or personal development, Eazipay is here to make dreams come true.
The mind-blowing initiative, which  kicked off this month, would end in December, and will also offer a range of perks and benefits designed to put a smile on the faces of SMEs and employees alike.
From exclusive discounts to various advisory services and beyond, Eazipay is committed to spreading happiness and creating lasting impact in people’s lives and to the growth of businesses.
The technology company which offers products and services that range from payroll management to IT/Device management and assessments, “Eazipay isn’t just providing financial support but also unleashing a wave of growth and prosperity for SMEs and employees across the nation.
“Interested businesses and individuals can take part in this initiative directly from the Eazipay website: www.myeazipay.com”.

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SMEs Critical For Sustainable Dev – Commissioner

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The Commissioner of Finance, Lagos State, Abayomi Oluyomi, has described Small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a critical engine for sustainable development in any economy.
He said this recently at the 10th anniversary of the Alert Group Microfinance Bank and the opening of their new head office in Lagos.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, SMEs accounted for about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s gross.
He commended the positive impact of the Alert MFB as it empowers SMEs in the State.
“Alert MFB in the past 10 years has been at the forefront of empowering SMEs in Lagos State, disbursing over N30bn in loans to over 30,000 individuals having small to medium businesses over that period, which is quite remarkable”, he said.
Speaking, the Group Managing Director of Alert Group, Dr Kazeem Olanrewaju, revealed that the financial institution commenced business in 2013 as a microfinance bank.
“We started this journey in 2013 and it has been expanding. Today, they have about 10 branches across Lagos. They have supported well over 30,000 clients and have disbursed over N30bn.
“The company has been profitable since the second year. Looking at the market and the available opportunity, the Alert MFB board decided to come together to establish a Microfinance Institute (MFI), which is the Auto Bucks Lenders”, Dr. Olanrewaju said.
The GMD further stated that the company was focused more on supporting businesses and small and medium enterprises.
“The loan to support business represents over 98 per cent. The consumer loans you will see are the ones given to entrepreneurs. So, the area of focus of Alert MFB and Auto Bucks Lenders is to support businesses across the country.
“With the establishment of Auto Bucks Lenders, we have the opportunity to also do business outside Lagos. So, presently, we have offices in Ogun State and Oyo State. We intend to go to every part of Nigeria to support what we are doing”, he declared.

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Retailers Explain Price Drop In  Cement Cost

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The cement market, in the last couple of weeks, has seen a significant turnaround with prices tumbling from between N10,000 and N15,000 per 50kg bag to between N7,000 and N8,000.
The sudden rise in the prices of cement and other major building materials in February this year upsets  the construction industry, especially in real estate, where many developers were forced to abandon building sites.
A recent market survey conducted by The Tide’s source in different locations across the country confirmed a price drop, ranging between N7,000 and N7,500 per bag, though BUA cement is selling for N7,500 to N7,800 per 50kg bag, depending on location.
Both entrepreneurs and major distributors who were interviewed,  explained that the price drop is due to low demand and government’s intervention.
At the peak of the price hike, the Federal Government called a meeting with major producers where it was agreed that a bag of cement should be between for N7,000 to N8,000, depending on location.
But the producers did not comply with this agreement immediately, followin which “Nigerians stopped demanding for cement; many project sites were abandoned as developers sat back and waited for the prices to come down.
“So, what has happened is an inter-play of demand and supply with price responding, which is Economics at work”, Collins Okpala, a cement dealer, told the source in Abuja.
In the Nyanya area of the Federal Capital Territory, a 50-kg bag of Dangote cement now sells for between N7,000 and N7,500, while BUA cement sells for between N8,500 and N9,500, down from between N11,000 and N12,000 respectively.
In Lagos, the product has seen significant price drop too. In Ojo area of the state, Sebastin Ovie, a dealer, told our reporter that what has happened is a crash from the January price, attributing the crash to low demand and stronger naira.
“The current price of the product is between N7,000 and N7,500 per 50kg bag, depending on the brand. This is a significant drop from the average of N12,000 which most dealers were selling in February and March”, he said.
A dealer in Agege area of the state who identified himself as Taofik Olateju, told the source that sales are picking up due to the drop in price.
He recalled that Nigerians at a point stopped buying due to the high price of the product at N15,000 per bag.
“I am sure most dealers ran at a loss then because we had mainly old stocks which we wanted to offload quickly”, he said, confirming that the product sells for between N7,500 and N8,000, depending on the brand and the demand for the brand.
Continuing, Olateju noted that “because the naira is now doing well against the dollar, it will be unreasonable for manufacturers to continue to sell the product at the old prices. I also believe that the federal government’s intervention and the threat to license more importers may have worked, leading to the reduction in price”.
In Enugu, the source reports that the product sells for between N7,200 and N7,500 depending on the brand and location.
“This is a city where the price of a 50kg bag went for as high as N12,000 and N13,000 in some cases in February and March”, Samuel Chikwendu said.
He added that the prices of other building materials, especially iron rods, have also dropped considerably which is why, he said, activities are picking up again at construction sites.
The story is slightly different in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, where Innocent Okonkwo told the source that low demand was also driving the price drop, adding that a 50kg bag was selling for N9,000 on the average in the state.
Sundry market observers are optimistic of further price reductions, but they remain cautious as manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers continue to play critical roles in setting prices for end-users.
They lamented, however, that despite Nigeria’s status as one of the largest producers of cement in Africa, the price of the product continues to rise, particularly in the face of high inflation impacting the building materials market generally.
Okpala in Abuja highlighted the variations arising from direct sourcing from manufacturers versus procurement through dealers, with traders holding old stocks selling products at prices ranging from N8,500, N8,300 to N8,000 per bag.
Lucy Nwachukwu, another dealer in Abuja, said the significance of  procurement volume in determining cement costs, noting that stability in prices has been observed over the past month, with the product retailing for between N7,000 and N7,800 depending on the brand.
In Port Harcourt also, a customer, Daniel Etteobong Effiong, said the price goes between N7500 to N8500, depending on the brand and the location one is buying from.

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