Leasing company Equity for Tanzania Ltd (EFTA) and New Holland Agriculture, a brand of CNH Industrial have announced a ground breaking partnership that is expected to bring mechanization to Tanzania’s 3.7m smallholder farmers.
The partnership also involves Hughes Agriculture Tanzania Ltd (HAT), New Holland Agriculture’s local distributor in Tanzania, and CRDB, one of Tanzania’s leading banks.
Nicomed Bohay, Managing Director of EFTA, commented: “We have done a deal of 200 new tractors with one of the respected top brands in the world for farmers and SMEs in Tanzanian agricultural sector.
This is to reaffirm EFTA’s commitment in collaboration with our business partners, CRDB Bank, Hughes Agriculture and New Holland Agriculture; to provide access to finance without collateral to farmers who wouldn’t have met eligibility criteria from mainstream financial institutions, a special segment of SME’s usually referred to as the “missing middle”, who are too big for microfinance but too small for conventional banks. The delivery of this transaction, and many more to come, confirms EFTA’s position as a leading financial leasing company in Tanzania.”
HAT and EFTA have been working in partnership for over five years, this is the first time a broader partnership, including New Holland Agriculture and CRDB, has been formed to significantly scale up tractor access by smallholder farmers.
It is expected to be the beginning of an ongoing partnership to grow mechanization in East Africa, including in Kenya, through EFTA’s sister company, EFKen Leasing Ltd (EFKen). Both EFTA and EFKen are subsidiaries of EFAfrica Group Ltd of Mauritius.
Stuart Leishman, Managing Director of HAT, commented “Mechanization is key to ensure the long-term goal of Tanzania becoming food secure, and we are proud to be able to play our part in increasing the number of emerging farmers using tractors and implements to improve their yields.
Thanks to our valued partnership with EFTA, New Holland Agriculture and the support of CRDB, we have created a solution where farmers can acquire New Holland tractors from EFTA, at affordable rates. This can be done without the various collateral hurdles that might have otherwise prevented them from accessing this equipment previously.
Hughes Agriculture will provide after sales support via their expanding network across the region to ensure that our customers receive the services, they need to keep their investment running.
HAT is a preferred agricultural and automotive solution provider company in Tanzania. HAT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Al Futtaim Group. It is a multi-franchise organization and represents some of the world`s leading brands. New Holland Agriculture is the agricultural equipment brand represented in Tanzania.
New Holland Agriculture is a brand of CNH Industrial, a global leader in the capital goods sector with established industrial experience, a wide range of products and a worldwide presence. In Tanzania, New Holland Agriculture has a strong position in agriculture sector for many years and providing a full line of equipment from tractors to harvesting.
As being the established and reputable manufacturer of agricultural equipment partner of this deal, the representative of the Company, Özkan Eren, New Holland Business Director, Middle East and Africa, stated “New Holland has built a strong presence in Tanzania and constantly providing crucial product improvement feedbacks.
This plays a key role to enhance New Holland’s commitment to continue innovating and adapting to market demands.
Through this partnership, our common objective is to provide the best possible products like TT75 tractor model and services to increase the mechanisation level of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and we are also committed to train the farmers and provide technical support they need to raise the bar on their productivity and profitability together with EFTA.
It is certain that we will continue to invest in Tanzania in support of our local partners”
The commercial bank partner of this deal, CRDB Bank is an integrated financial services provider and the largest Bank in Tanzania, with an asset base of over TZS 10 trillion. It is active in corporate, retail, business, treasury, premier, and wholesale microfinance. CRDB Bank is rated B2 (Stable Outlook) by Moody’s rating agency.
Mr. Abdulmajid Nsekela, The Group CEO and Managing Director for CRDB Bank Plc, commented: “This partnership with EFTA to support the SMEs in Tanzania demonstrates our readiness to support the agriculture sector. SMEs are the engines of growth for the economy, contributing heavily to the country’s GDP and employment.
We will continue with this partnership to ensure mechanisation in agriculture brings the desired outcomes”.
Lastly, Michiel Timmerman, Chairman, EFAfrica Group, said “We are very excited by this ground-breaking deal. This is because of the impact it will deliver, by providing affordable mechanisation and access to a leading tractor brand with excellent after-sales service and parts provided by Hughes Agriculture throughout the country.
But also, because it is a landmark for the Group, having achieved a size and maturity where we can work directly with OEMs in partnership with their dealers in-country, backed by leading local financial institutions. We now look forward to developing the partnership in Tanzania in 2023 and expanding it to Kenya.”
From January 2022 to date, EFTA has already financed 330 tractors, and in addition to this EFTA has directly purchased 200 units of New Holland Agriculture branded TT75 4WD tractors for leasing to smallholder farmers to support the country’s 2025 vision for mechanization, increase agricultural production, and improve food security.
EFTA currently has 1,045 active leases to SMEs and has financed over USD 69 million in equipment for SMEs and farmers who would otherwise be unable to access finance. Annual Tanzanian tractor sales are estimated at 1,800 units, meaning EFTA’s 530 tractors boost Tanzanian tractor access for farmers by 23%.
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