Deal to provide housing fund for low-income earners

Shelter Afrique and the Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS) have signed a memorandum of understanding to mobilise affordable home loans targeting low-income and middle-income earners.

The home loans will be extended to institutions focusing on provision of housing loans to the low-income groups in Kenya and 43 other African countries. TCIS is the financial inclusion arm of Habitat for Humanity International

The agreement was signed in Nairobi by Shelter Afrique’s CEO Andrew Chimphondah and Habitat for Humanity’s Associate Director for Capital Markets and Financial Inclusion Elena Milanovska. It will see the establishment of an incremental building fund for Africa, capacity building in housing microfinance, and technical assistance.

Chimphondah said the partnership would make it easier for the two institutions to jointly facilitate efficient and inclusive housing market systems with the main objective of making affordable housing a reality across Africa, especially in the lower end of the housing market.

“Research on housing finance options for Africa conducted by our Centre of Excellence has shown that the penetration of housing mortgage throughout Africa is quite low, meaning that the mortgage might not be the right option for low-middle income population. This partnership with Habitat for Humanity International gives Shelter Afrique an opportunity to add other innovative ways to finance housing development on the continent,” he said.

Milanovska said the partnership with Shelter Afrique was a “perfect match”, adding that Habitat for Humanity had established USD100 million (Sh10 billion) micro-build fund that supplies debt capital and techni­cal expertise to help microfinance institutions increase the availability of housing loan products for low-income customers.