About Us
After a year of market research and almost two years of discussions with the Regulator, Ethio Lease received a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia to operate a leasing company in July of 2019, becoming the first foreign-owned entity to be granted a financial services license in the country.
Following a sudden change of regulations by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) Ethio Lease was no longer able to write new leases. Despite repeated requests, the rule change has never been reversed, and Ethio Lease officially entered into voluntary liquidation on April 12, 2024. The Voluntary Liquidation is expected to take until late 2026 when the last leasing agreements will expire. Ethio Lease was Ethiopia’s first privately owned equipment leasing company with a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia.
Ethio Lease is a subsidiary company of African Asset Finance Company (AAFC).
About AAFC
African Asset Finance Company (AAFC) was launched in 2017 and aims to bridge the gap between capital markets with ample liquidity and emerging markets in need of solutions for equipment, equipment-as-a-service, equipment leasing, asset backed lending, and (clean) energy and infrastructure financing in Africa through AAFC group companies and partnerships.
AAFC is headquartered in New York, and has offices in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. AAFC is rapidly expanding its offerings to several markets across the African continent.
Leadership
Ethio Lease is led by CEO Menen Shewarega. She joined Ethio Lease as Chief Risk Officer in August 2019 and has played an instrumental role in supporting the Ethio Lease portfolio. Menen brings more than 11 years of cumulative credit and risk management experience in the financial sector. Menen earned a BA in Economics & an MBA in Business Administration with a Marketing specialization.
Our Team
MENEN SHEWAREGA
Menen is the CRO of Ethio Lease. She brings more than 11 years of cumulative credit and risk management experience. She Joined Ethio Lease in August 2019.
Previously, Menen spent more than 11 years with United Bank S.C. where she rose to the position of Credit Manager. During her tenure with United Bank, she held a wide variety of banking functions, including commercial lending officer and risk & credit analysis.
Menen has a BA in Economics & an MBA in Business Administration with a Marketing specialization.
Board of Directors
Ethio Lease is overseen and supported by a board of directors, a group of renowned business leaders from around the world who bring extensive experience in Ethiopia, Africa, banking and non-banking financial services, and best-in-class management practices.
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FRANS VANSCHAIK
Frans serves as Vice Chair of Ethio Lease and is the Chairman and CEO of African Asset Finance Company Inc. He is also a Roha partner and serves on a number of affiliated company boards.
Previously, Frans founded Tribute Capital, was a managing partner at Logispring, served as (interim) CEO of a number of industrial groups, and was a junior partner at Gilde Investment Funds. He has co-founded several businesses, including an equipment leasing company.
Frans holds a BA in history, an LLM from the University of Amsterdam and a post-graduate diploma in international relations from the University of Vienna.
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GIRMA WAKE
Girma serves as the chair of Ethio Lease.
He also serves as an adviser to various African Governments and Aviation Organisations.
Girma is best known for transforming Ethiopian Airlines into the leading African aviation powerhouse it is today, first as CEO, later as Chairman.
He is the former chairman of Rwanda Air and former chair of United Insurance and he worked earlier in his career for Gulf Air. He graduated from the University College of Addis Ababa
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ISMAEL DUBALE
Ismael serves as a board member of Ethio Lease and is AAFC’s Head of Finance, based in Rotterdam, Netherlands and New York, USA. He was a co-organizer of Ethio Lease and has been working on the preparation of the launch of Ethio Lease and AAFC since 2017, initially as part of the Roha team in Addis, and later as General Manager of AEPC in Dubai.
Prior to joining Roha, Ismael worked as a commercial business analyst for Heineken, and as a market research and route management analyst for Ethiopian Airlines, after a short stint as a junior officer at Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
Ismael earned an MBA from the University of Manchester, a certificate in business metrics for data-driven companies from Duke, and successfully completed the aviation and marketing course at ET's Aviation School after earning a BA in economics from Addis Ababa University.
No More Careers & Opportunities
We laid off the majority of our staff and are no longer hiring.
Our Impact Philosophy
Ethio Lease is committed to both driving business growth and generating positive impact. By making high-quality equipment accessible to businesses, we help accelerate economic development by enabling faster business growth and creating jobs.
Our operations have the potential to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands through greater economic activity, improved efficiency and increased job opportunity.
How We Did Business
We followed best practices in all aspects of our business:
We give priority to leasing quality equipment that compares favorably against its peers in the areas of environmental impact, safety and longevity.
We have a strict Code of Ethics and Business Policy with a zero tolerance for corruption and strictly enforce a code of ethical conduct.
We abide by the UNPRI.
We comply with all applicable sanctions’ regulations.
We comply with the regulations of the National Bank of Ethiopia.
We comply with AAFC group policies.
We are a member of ELFA.
How We Did Business
When it comes to deciding which businesses to lease or lend to, we used the following three screening strategies:
Negative
Screening
We check against lists of excluded companies (e.g., manufacturers of controversial weapons, companies known for human rights abuses or inexcusable negative environmental, etc.) and reject these out of hand.
Positive
Screening
We prioritize companies with better Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) records than their peers, using a combination of our own analysis and third-party research.
Norms-based Screening
We screen against international standards of business practice, which is embedded into our credit and risk evaluation process.
While we recognize that we cannot control how individual businesses treat their workers or the environment, we do proactively monitor all lease agreements and look for ways to address potential issues.
How We Partnered
We were committed to addressing the needs of organizations in priority sectors, such as small farmers and public hospitals, that have limited access to credit. To this end, we partner with local or international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local cooperatives and other aggregators such as contract farming organizations, to create a combination of clustered offerings and technical assistance, typically with an umbrella first-loss guarantee offered by the partner.
Technical assistance could include training on how to operate machinery or equipment, support with various management and administrative functions, and general strategic business advice.
We also partnered with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their distributors, with certified Third-Party Maintenance organizations, Insurance Companies and other service providers to get as close as possible to a “full service” leasing experience for our customers.
Our Governance
We hold accountability and transparency in high regard. Our code of Ethics and Business Conduct and the terms of reference of our Board Committees can be viewed through the following links.