African Asset Finance Company Completes Redeemable Preferred Share Offering

NEW YORK, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- African Asset Finance Company Inc. ("AAFC"), a New York-based non-bank financial and equipment leasing firm, today announced the final close of a $30 million redeemable preferred share offering, led by Roha II LP. The financing was completed in two equal tranches.

AAFC intends to use the proceeds to strengthen its equity base for funding and growing a diversified portfolio of equipment leasing contracts in Ethiopia and other African markets, with a focus on agricultural and medical equipment.

"The successful completion of this financing demonstrates the strong support shown by our investors," said Frans VanSchaik, CEO of AAFC. "The proceeds enable us to continue growing our business and deploy capital in equipment leasing contracts for mission-critical use in sectors that serve fundamental human needs, and we trust the additional equity will reinforce our ability to access financing despite the challenging conditions that exist today. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced strong new lease bookings in Q1, and we took measures as early as January to pre-empt supply chain issues. Moving forward, we will continue to monitor conditions, both in the markets we serve and in our global supply chain as we seek to stay ahead of developments."

Brooks Washington, managing partner of Roha, commented, "We continue to be very impressed with AAFC's financial and operating performance and their impact on the local African communities they serve. We are excited to support Frans and his team's mission of accelerating economic development by removing hurdles caused by equipment shortages and insufficient access to financing across multiple African markets."  

Business Update

During the first quarter of 2020, AAFC's leasing activities exceeded management's initial expectations.  Profitability was well ahead of plan, and bookings of new equipment leases continue to be on target, with a heavy emphasis on agricultural and medical equipment.  In addition, AAFC's Ethiopian subsidiary Ethio Lease closed a landmark collaboration agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Transformation Agency, which will help increase productivity and ensure gains for local smallholder farms in Ethiopia.