The future of housing in Africa is pegged on a shift in focus towards rental housing. These were observations made during a panel discussion chaired by Shelter Afrique on the issues affecting housing in Africa.
Panelists at the event held at a Nairobi hotel outlined the various advantages that can be accrued from establishing a formal rental housing system. Femi Adewole the Director of Portfolio Management at Shelter Afrique remarked on the need for long term capital investment in order to construct the rental homes.
“With about 90% of Africa’s population unable to buy a house or even qualify for a mortgage, there is need to make a serious mental shift towards formal rental housing as a viable option to solve the housing crisis” remarked James Mugerwa the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique.
“We must break the housing unit the same way we broke down the mobile phone – Lands PS Mariam El Maawy. Investors and the Government must flag important policy to spur housing development.
The forum that brought together government officials, private rental property owners, financiers and nongovernmental organization in housing sector comes ahead of a pan africa wide conference to be held in October. The conference themed “Formal Rental Housing in Africa: A Critical Option in the Challenge of Providing Affordable for All” is an open forum to discuss formal rental housing as a critical housing option, with a view to formulating concrete proposals on how best to stimulate this sector in Africa.

Shelter-Afrique’s newly appointed Director, Business Development, Mr. Mouhamodou Gueye paid a courtesy call to Nigeria’s Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi on Tuesday, 22nd July, 2014.

The purpose of the courtesy visit was to officially communicate to the Ministry of the commencement of operations in the West African Regional Office of Shelter-Afrique situated in Abuja, Nigeria. The Director, Business Development assured the Minister that Shelter-Afrique has come to contribute its quota to ensuring that the 17million housing deficit in Nigeria is reduced to the minimum. He added that Shelter-Afrique had started doing this by investing $3million in the recently established National Mortgage Refinancing Company of Nigeria (NMRC).

The Minister advocated that Nigeria, being the largest shareholder in Shelter-Afrique should reap the commensurate benefits from Shelter Afrique, such as investing more in Nigeria and employing more Nigerians in the organization. The Minister noted that with huge housing deficit in Nigeria, and based on the fact that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, Shelter Afrique has a large investment opportunity in Nigeria. She, therefore, called on the Resident Regional Representative, Mr. Oumar Diop to work with the Ministry for support with regards to embarking on business opportunity tour in the country, and visit to all the States of the Federation.

The Minister pledged her support for Shelter Afrique’s activities in Nigeria.

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African Housing Financier has advanced a USD8M [KSH704M] loan to the Kenya Medical Association for the construction of 160 housing units in Mombasa for exclusive sale to members of the association.

The loan which follows the approval by the Shelter Afrique board in March 2014 sees Shelter Afrique partner with the KMA yet again having already jointly financed two of the KMA’s housing projects.

Signing the loan documents, the Acting Managing Director, Mr. Yekini Olayanju remarked on the nature of Shelter Afrique’s relationship with the KMA stating that “with the KMA we are on familiar territory and it pleases us to be in a position yet again to strengthen our relationship with them. Shelter Afrique is always happy to play our part in developing the housing sector in our host country of Kenya, which till date is our strongest market and portfolio.”

Responding for the KMA the Chairman Dr. Hezra. Opere thanked Shelter Afrique for once again welcoming the KMA to the fold and stated that “the KMA is very happy to be considered once again for a facility and our track record speaks for itself; we can assure that we will honour the terms of the agreement and we want to encourage all our members to take advantage of this and to cross the divide to home ownership”. He continued that the KMA is committed to improving the lives of its members and will continue to find avenues to do so.

During her brief remarks the Secretary for the KMA, Dr. Josephine Omodi also thanked Shelter Afrique for the facility and joined the chairman in encouraging members to make the most of the association, she further commented on the importance of home ownership and how developing the real estate sector was necessary for any stable economy.

The signing ceremony which took place at Shelter Afrique’s HQ in Nairobi was witnessed by Senior Management, staff of Shelter Afrique and executive members of the KMA.

The signing also comes after concerted efforts by Shelter Afrique to reach out to Saccos, it will be recalled that the housing financier hosted Saccos to a business development cocktail in May to intimate them on their products and services. The signing also sees Shelter Afrique cap off a busy number of days; having signed a USD9M facility with the National Housing Construction Company of Uganda only a few days ago.

Shelter Afrique, the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of housing affordable and the real estate sector in Africa signed a Agreement with the National housing and Construction Company.
The Agreement was signed by Mr. Yekini Olayanju the Acting Managing Director and Ambassador Anges Kalibbala the Chair of the NHCC, the delegation was was also comprised the Minister of Housing of Uganda, Honorable Daudi Migereko and the NHCC Managing Director, Mr. Felix Okoboi.
The objective of the USD9M loan is to provide financing for the NHCC to construct new and affordable housing units in Uganda for low-income individuals.
Yekini Olayanju, the Acting Managing Director of Shelter Afrique welcomed the NHCC and added “the project finance facility agreement between Shelter Afrique and NHCC Uganda is a step in the right direction and marks an important milestone for our two institutions, we are committed to support the government of Ugandan in rolling out housing PPP projects that will pave way for possible increase in capital subscription to ensure effective intervention for shelter Afrique in the markets.
On his part, the minister remarked “We are doing a good job but we have to do more and in good time. There is a lot of work to do, we need to do more, we also have to look at way to make the cost of housing materials cheaper, we have to find a way to become a part of the value-chain so we can control the cost”
Amb. Agnes Kalibbala thanked the Minister and the staff of Shelter Afrique. She said that she is glad to sign the agreement; she also said that the housing in Uganda is one of the biggest problems and she believes that the project will really help Ugandan people.

Felix Okoboi, the Managing Director of the NHCC also remarked that the signing is the culmination of a hard work, a very big step and the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

About NHCC

National Housing and Construction Company Limited (NHCC) is a Ugandan public enterprise that was established by the National Housing Corporation Act of 1964. The act was later repealed by the 1974 Decree to form National Housing and Construction Corporation.

Shelter Afrique, the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of housing affordable and real estate sector in Africa signed a MOU with the Real Estate Developers Association Nigeria.

The MOU was signed by Mr. Emmanuel Olabode Afolayan the representative of Real Estate Developers Association Nigeria (REDAN) and Mr. Alassane Ba, the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique.

The objective of the signing is to begin a process which will end with, the building of ten thousand houses in Nigeria. Both parties expressed their commitment to providing affordable housing in Africa.

Alassane Ba, the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique welcomed the REDAN contingent and added “We will commit the necessary resources to the project and make sure the project takes place in good conditions and on time; because one of core principles of Shelter Afrique is to meet its commitments in a timely and cost effective fashion.
He also noted that the Nigerian market was full of potential and that was one of the reasons that the regional office was set up in Abuja.

On his part, Mr. Afolayan said that he was happy to sign the MOU and he is happy to know that the first steps to realise the project had been taken and this project would allow ten thousand families directly benefit. He stated that REDAN is eager to get finance and to make even more of a case for REDAN, he mentioned five projects that have been already completed.

About REDAN

The Real Estate Developer’s Association of Nigeria (REDAN) is the principal agency of the organized private sector recognized by government and approved by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) – the apex mortgage lender in Nigeria – to facilitate the delivery of affordable mass housing for Nigerians.

Shelter Afrique targets housing co-operatives for growth

Nairobi, May 27th, 2014. Pan African housing and urban development financier, Shelter Afrique is courting housing Saccos across the country; as it engages new ways to provide affordable housing to all Kenyans.

Addressing a group of Housing Saccos at a Nairobi hotel, Shelter Afrique’s Director of Business Development and Operations Femi Adewole said the company was keen on keying into the schemes and solving the challenges of housing being faced by member of various saccos.

“Most co-operatives have acquired landed properties which have been allocated to their members, what members need now is not land but a decent home, unfortunately most members cannot afford the lump sum to build on their allocated land. We have entered into deals with some saccos to finance development of decent but affordable housing for their members,” said Mr. Adewole.
High Bank rates

In a presentation anchored by Senior Investment Officer Maureen Katuversiraiuna and Team Leader of Direct Lending, Kahumbya Bashige; Bashige noted that loan facility and proper land documentation are usually a slow process; hence members may not get the requested facility from commercial banks to develop houses.

“There is also the issue of interest volatilities with commercial bank. We all recall the aftermath of the 2012 interest volatility which saw the interest rates on bank loans rise to as high as 25%. Shelter Afrique is able to offer a fairly stable interest regime because our sources of funding are different from those of commercial banks,” said Mr. Adewole added.

In the year 2012, Shelter Afrique extended a Ksh395 million development loan to Stima Investment to construct Stima Village – a 156 housing units project in Syokimau. In the ongoing Stima Village development, Shelter Afrique is stepping in to fund the development of 76 maisonettes, forty 40 three-bed roomed and 36 four bed roomed units.

In 2011, Shelter Afrique signed a Ksh560 million loan agreement with the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) Housing Co-operative Ltd to provide financing for its housing project. The KMA project is a comprehensive mixed user development comprising of 157 units consisting of 3-5 bedrooms of different types between 160 sq meters to 227 sq meters. The project is located in Mavoko, 1.1KM off Mombasa Road.

The Stima Village project and KMA Housing Project, Adewole disclosed, are some of Shelter Afrique’s major middle level investments geared at raising Kenya’s housing supply capacity.

“At Shelter Afrique, we are actively extending support to such projects as Stima Village and the KMA Housing projects as part of our corporate commitment to boost supply of affordable housing units for Kenya’s growing middle class among other social classes,” Katuvesirauina also added.
Incremental financing

The company has also partnered with Microfinance institutions to provide incremental financing for those willing to improve their housing. In February this year, Shelter Afrique signed a Ksh100 million low cost housing financing deal with Rafiki Microfinance Bank which will be extended to individuals seeking to own decent homes.

Under this program, Rafiki Microfinance Bank will disburse loans as low as Ksh20, 000 for home improvement, going up to Ksh5 million for mortgages in any across the country.

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with CITIC Construction, one of the biggest multinational construction and engineering companies and IFC, the International Finance Company. The new partners envision funding large scale affordable housing projects in the sub-Saharan African region.

The agreement which is expected to boost Shelter Afrique quest in providing housing for all, was signed by the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, Mr. Alassane Ba; Vice President of CITICC, Mr. Mingguang Xu and the Head of IFC in the East Africa Region, Mr. Manuel Moses.

The MOU’s objective is to create an efficient platform for the delivery of large-scale affordable housing projects across Sub Saharan Africa with the initial focus in markets like Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana where SHAF has an existing project pipeline.
Each company is expected to play a role in this partnership; CITICC will undertake to leverage resources to conduct feasibility studies, cost analysis and overall project planning as well as mobilize the necessary financing through its banking relationships. It also looks to act as the Engineering Procurement Construction contractor for each project, subject to consent of all parties.

IFC on its part will engage to provide or mobilize construction or mortgage financing on its own or through liaising with other financial institution and Shelter Afrique is expected to leverage its existing resources to source qualified projects and identify the local partners.
It will be recalled that Shelter Afrique had signed an MOU earlier in the year with Zamfara State. This brings the number of such agreements to two; showing Shelter Afrique’s strong commitment to building lasting partnerships.

The Managing Director, Mr. Alassane Ba expressed his pleasure and delight at the beginning of a strong partnership with CITIC and his hope that the agreement will add value to Shelter Afrique in achieving its objectives.
He also added that Shelter Afrique has a vision which it is close to realising and without strong partnerships like the one with CITICC Shelter Afrique will not be able to achieve its vision.

For his part, Mr. Xu Mingguang congratulated Shelter Afrique and expressed his pleasure and honour at signing the MOU and declared that it was an honour he was sharing with all members of the CITIC family; he also commended Shelter Afrique for doing an excellent job in the field of social housing.

When we call the market answers
Agency (Ecofin) – “The bond for an amount of 10 billion FCFA launched by Shelter Afrique on the financial market of Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) was oversubscribed by 163.62%, announced the CGF Bourse stock through a notice of closure.”

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ALTERNATE BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS –

Sustainable Solution to alleviating housing deficit in Africa hosted by Shelter Afrique and Ministry of Construction, Housing,Sanitation and Urban Development.

The presentations

International Green Solution
Moladi Constructions
Ministry of Construction
Strawtec Building Solutions

On Tuesday the 14th Shelter Afrique played host to the Government of Zamfara State, in Nigeria. The delegation was led by the Governor Abdul’Aziz Yari [pictured above] and senior members of the state government. The Governor was also accompanied by the Nigerian High Commissioner to Kenya, Mr. Akin Oyateru.

The delegation was welcomed by the Managing Director of SHAF, Mr. Alassane Ba and all members of the Senior Management Council.

The delegation had come to SHAF to find ways to collaborate on affordable housing projects in the state. The discussions between the two parties were centred on the dynamics of a Public-Private-Partnership [PPP]. The culmination of the discussions resulted in the signing of a MoU between the two parties to develop affordable housing in the state.

Under the Memorandum of Understanding Shelter Afrique will provide advisory services including the support for the selection of consultants, project design and financing plan. In addition, Shelter Afrique will facilitate the financing of the project.
Likewise, under the MoU the government of Zamfara State will be responsible for identification and allocation of land for the project and for developing the bulk infrastructure including access road, power and water, off taker finance.

Addressing the delegation the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique remarked on how timely the visit and the discussions were, as the regional office in Nigeria was just getting underway. He also mentioned the strategic importance of the Nigerian market and reaffirmed Shelter Afrique’s commitment to affordable housing on the continent.

In his remarks, the Governor of Zamfara, Abdul’Aziz Yari expressed his pleasure with the development and remarked on how his government was committed to providing affordable housing in his state and to improving the lives of his citizens.

On his part, the Nigerian Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Akin Oyateru remarked on his sense of fulfilment as the number of Nigerian Governors who have begun discussions with Shelter Afrique had increased. He commented on the strategic importance of Shelter Afrique and was hopeful that many more Nigerian Governors would open discussions with Shelter Afrique.