NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 9 – Nairobi will next week host over 200 housing finance leaders, investors, and policymakers for the 41st African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) Annual Conference, themed “Blended Finance for Affordable Housing.”
The two-day forum, set for the Radisson Blu Hotel, Upper Hill, will bring together African and global experts to explore how blended finance can unlock large-scale investment in affordable housing.
A key highlight will be the launch of the Playbook for Blended Finance in Affordable Housing in Africa, developed by Convergence and the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), with support from IDRC and Standard Bank. The Playbook offers tools and case studies for structuring housing transactions that combine public, private, and philanthropic capital.
“Blended finance is most powerful when catalytic capital helps close the gap between what affordable housing projects need and what private investors expect,” said Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence, who will deliver the keynote address.
AUHF Chairman Kehinde Ogundimu said the conference comes at a critical time for Africa’s housing sector. “The housing deficit is not only about shortages but affordability — and that is a finance problem. Blended finance helps de-risk the sector and attract private capital.”
Locally, Johnstone Oltetia, AUHF Treasurer and CEO of the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC), noted that concessional funding, when combined with commercial capital, has enabled delivery of single-digit mortgages in Kenya, adding that “the challenge now is to scale this model across Africa.”
CAHF Executive Director Kecia Rust said blended finance must be paired with ecosystem improvements across land, infrastructure, construction, and end-user finance to achieve lasting impact.
The conference will feature sessions by Shelter Afrique CEO Thierno Habib Hann, case studies from Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, and discussions on green housing, affordable mortgages, and carbon credit financing.
AUHF represents 52 housing finance institutions across Africa and will hold its 41st AGM alongside a Master Class on Blended Finance and site visits to affordable housing projects in Nairobi.
