POTENTIAL OF LEASE FINANCING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE UGANDAN CASE

Although Small and Medium Sized businesses (SMEs) play a significant role in the economic development and trade facilitation in developing economies like Uganda, the most frequently cited constraint to their development concerns the lack of access to appropriate and usable financing. Informal financing arrangements are increasingly becoming common in Uganda. However, even with this multitude of informal sector, financing possibilities remain insufficient to meet the demands of the SMEs. Among the options cited to be in existence in the formal sector is Lease Financing. Many companies ranging from Big to small sized businesses have been beneficiaries of lease financing. Leasing in most developing economies like Uganda is still hugely underdeveloped when compared to economies in the developed world and emerging markets like South Africa. The research analysis focuses on examining whether the potential for the development of leasing in developing countries exists and analyzes the factors for the underdevelopment of the leasing industry in Uganda. The study should be especially useful to professionals in the finance industry, entrepreneurs and business proprietors, scholarS.