Shelter Afrique Partners with World Bank to Address Affordable Housing crisis in Africa - Capital Business
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

COURTESY

Headlines

Shelter Afrique Partners with World Bank to Address Affordable Housing crisis in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 22- Pan-African housing development financier Shelter Afrique has entered into a strategic partnership with the World Bank aimed at addressing the affordable housing crisis evident across the continent.

The Sh20m (USD200,000) Technical Assistance (TA) partnership will provide advisory services  funded under the Joint Capital Markets Program (JCAP) aimed at supporting Shelter Afrique’s capital market program.

The JCAP program is an initiative of the World Bank Group (WBG) aimed at creating deep, efficient, and well-regulated local capital markets for expanded access to long-term, local-currency finance in key areas such as climate, housing and infrastructure.

“Shelter Afrique aims to build strategic partnerships and alliances with key industry players as part of its sustainable recovery and growth strategy,” said Andrew Chimphondah, Shelter Afrique Chief Executive Officer.

“We are grateful to the World Bank for offering technical assistance support which will be key in completing our turn around program.”

The strategic partnership with the World Bank will enhance Shelter Afrique’s institutional, operational and the technical capacity targeting the reinstatement of investment grade credit rating and a strong return to the capital markets.

“We anticipate that this partnership will help to deepen ShAf’s impact on Kenya’s affordable housing value chain, in particular, the supply side and subsequently help to bring down the country’s housing deficit,” said Simon Walley, World Bank Lead Financial Sector Specialist.

Long-term Vision

The success of this technical assistance will determine future long-term partnership between the two institutions with a mix of possible interventions that could include support for Member Countries equity injections via country IDA allocation; direct lines of credit from World Bank, as well as credit guarantee schemes.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

African countries are currently facing a housing crisis driven by high population growth, increased urbanization, poor urban planning, dysfunctional land markets, rising construction costs, proliferation of informal settlements, and underdeveloped financial systems. Overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated at 56 million housing units according to research from Shelter Afrique’s Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Out of this, more than 90 percent are in the affordable housing bracket. The study notes that the solution lies in a well-coordinated and collaborative effort among all stakeholders, including governments, multilateral institutions, non-profit organizations, and the private sector.

Advertisement

More on Capital Business

Investments in Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – BURN Manufacturing (BURN), a carbon project developer, has announced the completion of a follow-on carbon project investment from Key...

World

LONDON, March 28 (Xinhua) — The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK) fell by an unrevised 0.3 percent in the last...

Top Story

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – A total of 28 insurance companies dominate the list of abuse of buyer power cases in Kenya, the latest...

Aviation

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – Skyward Express on Thursday unveiled its first direct flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Moi International Airport,...

Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – Asset finance solutions provider Watu Credit has welcomed the publication of the draft national e-Mobility Policy. The company has...

Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – The climate crusader Pan Africa Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) has faulted the United Nations’ Santiago Network on Loss and...

Opinion

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – Most Kenyans have become travel savvy post COVID-19 resulting in a lot of research and early bookings for both...

Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 28 – The Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industrialization (MITI has moved quickly to address the recent tax concerns raised by...