Shelter Afrique, the Pan African Housing Institution exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing and real estate sector in Africa, has signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding with the Housing Bank of Senegal [BHS].
The MoU that was signed at the Shelter Afrique headquarters in Nairobi, will see the two institutions strengthen their existing relationship, speaking at the signing ceremony the Managing Director, James Mugerwa stated that Senegal has always been an integral part of operations at Shelter Afrique; “We have a long and storied history of fostering housing developments in Senegal; our first project in the Republic of Senegal was in 1989, and in the last 25 years we have remained committed to financing Real Estate projects that promote innovation and affordability. BHS is part of that history, we have entered into agreements before to co-finance a project, so there is good precedence”
The agreement will see Shelter Afrique work towards the establishment of an investment fund and explore the option of syndicated financing or co-financing of projects of common interest in Senegal. BHS on its part will assist in pre-selection and screening of developers and projects that meet Shelter Afrique’ s investment guidelines.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Bocar Sy, the Managing Director, added that he was happy to once again be associated with Shelter Afrique, “We are happy to note that Shelter Afrique is entering into a new strategic cycle, BHS has just launched its own strategic cycle, so we can identify with your objectives. It is our hope that the collaboration will not be limited to just financing, which is necessary, but we hope that we can benefit from your technical expertise and labour exchange programs, as we consider Shelter Afrique home”.
The MOU is expected to be the first phase of increased activities between the two organisations and be a key part of the Senegalese strategy going forward for Shelter Afrique.
The MOU will see the housing financier dramatically expand its operations and activities across Africa, having just launched the 5000 FOR 5000 housing completion at its recently concluded Annual General Meeting in Nigeria, the competition is challenging developers to design a model for USD5000 per unit and Shelter Afrique will commission 5000 units. Additionally, Shelter Afrique has just signed on to deliver 20,000 housing units for Police in Kenya in collaboration with the African Development Bank. The housing financier has also opened its regional office in Abidjan and will be officially launching the office before the end of August, Shelter Afrique is also expected to begin its developer masterclass in Cameroun by September.
Note to Editors
About Shelter Afrique
Shelter Afrique (SHAF) is the only Pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa. A partnership of 44 African Governments, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Reinsurance Company, Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships and offers a host of products and related services to support the efficient delivery of affordable housing and commercial real estate.