New initiatives in the republic of Georgia and African nation of Kenya will stimulate the expansion of equipment leasing and asset finance in these vibrant emerging markets, said Rafael Castillo-Triana, CEO of The Alta Group Latin American Region.
An international attorney, Castillo-Triana recently returned from trips to provide leasing training for judges in Georgia and government officials in Kenya. Both countries currently have stable governments and growing leasing industries, but they are emerging markets in sometimes volatile regions of the world. Georgia was engaged in a military conflict as recently as 2008 with Russia. Kenya experienced widespread violence after its 2007 elections but improved stability since passing a new constitution in 2010.
“As we face the challenges happening in the world, mainly dealing with poverty and inequality, equipment leasing emerges as the key engine for capital formation, job creation, access to financing and rationality of government spending on infrastructure,” Castillo-Triana said. “This is the main motivation to build a sustainable business environment that should welcome global lessors and new leasing and finance investors in these emerging markets. This is the role that our consultants are playing on a global scale, in Kenya, Georgia and other nations.”
Castillo-Triana was one of the authors of leasing-related reforms to the Georgian Civil Code in 2011. He returned in May 2014 to provide training to help Georgian judges understand market-based interpretations of leasing laws as the country continues its transition from a socialist economy. East-West Management Institute sponsored the training.
Later in May, Castillo-Triana was a featured speaker at the Leasing Association of Kenya’s first convention, which focused on helping government officials in Kenya and in other African nations understand the benefits of using equipment leasing to finance government investment in education, mobility, energy and infrastructure. Alta’s previous work in Kenya included capacity building initiatives in 2009-10 sponsored by the World Bank and the British government.