About Us

Addis Ababa City at night

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.

Ethio Lease is a subsidiary company of African Asset Finance Company (AAFC), which was launched in 2017 to address Africa’s underserved market for equipment leasing and asset-backed lending, with Ethiopia as its first market. Headquartered in New York, and with offices in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, AAFC is rapidly expanding its offerings to several other markets across the African continent.

About AAFC

 

African Asset Finance Company (AAFC) provides equipment leasing and asset-backed lending in Africa through AAFC group companies and partnerships. AAFC is a privately owned US corporation, with its main office located in New York.

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Leadership

Ethio Lease is led by CEO Degol Gossaye. He joined Ethio Lease as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing on August 15th, 2019 and has played an instrumental role in building the portfolio of Ethio Lease. Degol has over 16 years’ experience working in the banking and the commercial sector working various positions such as Credit Manager, Risk Manager, and Branch Manager. Degol earned an MBL and Economics Degree from UNISA and is a CFA candidate.

Our Team

 

Degol Gossaye

Degol Gossaye is the CEO of Ethio Lease.

Degol Gossaye is the CEO of Ethio Lease. Degol joined Ethio Lease in 2019 as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing from Essilor-Sun Optical Tech, where he was CEO.

Previously, Degol worked for 14 years at United Bank as a Credit Manager, Risk Manager, and the Branch Manager. He started his career at United as a Senior Analyst.

Degol earned an MBL and Economics Degree from UNISA and is a CFA candidate.

Degol Gossaye

Degol Gossaye is the CEO of Ethio Lease. Degol joined Ethio Lease in 2019 as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing from Essilor-Sun Optical Tech, where he was CEO.

Previously, Degol worked for 14 years at United Bank as a Credit Manager, Risk Manager, and the Branch Manager. He started his career at United as a Senior Analyst.

Degol earned an MBL and Economics Degree from UNISA and is a CFA candidate.

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.

Anne Eriksson

Anne recently retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as the Regional Senior Partner for Eastern Africa and Senior Country Partner Kenya, a role in which she oversaw 1,500 employees in six African countries.

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Brooks Washington

Brooks is founder of Roha and a partner with the firm. He serves as a board member on all of Roha’s portfolio companies and previously served as CEO (General Manager) of Juniper Glass Industries, Roha’s first large-scale industrial development.

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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.

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Girma Wake

Girma serves as the chair of Ethio Lease.

He also serves on the Board of Ethiopian Airlines, as the chair of United Insurance and as an adviser to the Government of Togo.

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Mohab Mufti

Mohab is a Saudi Executive with thirty years of experience in financial services, including global markets, structured finance and direct investments. He currently leads advisory firm Decca Investments and serves on the Board of Arqaam Capital, a Dubai-based emerging markets investment bank.

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Careers & Opportunities

Are you seeking an opportunity to advance your career? We are hiring experienced professionals and promising new talent for various roles.

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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 Do Business



We follow 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 Decide Which
Businesses To Work With

 

When it comes to deciding which businesses to lease or lend to, we use 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 Partner

 

We are 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 can include training on how to operate machinery or equipment, support with various management and administrative functions, and general strategic business advice.

We also partner 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.
Code of Ethics and Business Policy
ELFA
UNPRI

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