Month: September 2020

Nairobi: September 22, 2020: Pan-African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with two Chinese construction firms, Amberton International Holdings and Sichuan Huashi Enterprise Corporations E.A. LTD, aimed at scaling up the development of large-scale affordable housing projects in Kenya and other Shelter Afrique member States.

The agreement which is expected to boost Shelter Afrique’s mandate of providing decent and affordable housing in Africa, was signed in Nairobi by Shelter Afrique Chief Executive Officer Andrew Chimphondah, Amberton International Holdings Director Nancy Yu, and Sichuan Huashi Enterprise Corporations E.A. LTD Managing Director Cao Zheng.

“As a company, our overriding strategy is the provision of affordable housing across our member States through public-private partnerships. This strategic partnership with Amberton and Huashi will be key in expanding our projects across the continent as we draw from the experiences of the two companies. Shelter Afrique will work closely with Amberton International Holdings as a co-developer for specific large-scale, low cost housing projects in Africa, which will be constructor by Sichuan Huashi Enterprise Corporations E.A. LTD,” Mr. Chimphondah said.

He noted that some off-take projects had been identified in Kenya and in other markets such as Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Nigeria where Shelter Afrique has existing project pipelines.

“Already we are in the process of securing a few projects in Kenya with the Department of Defense, the Kenya Police and the Civil Service, for which we expect to break ground this year. These take-off projects will be aligned with Kenya government affordable housing plan under the Big 4 Agenda, which seeks to develop 500,000 housing units by 2022,” Mr. Chimphondah said.

Mr. Chimphondah said the majority of African countries were already facing a housing crisis with the overall housing shortage estimated at 56 million housing units across the continent. Out of this, more than 90% are in the affordable housing bracket.

“We believe our partnership with Amberton and Huashi will deepen our impact on Kenya’s and by extension, Africa’s affordable housing value chain, in particular, the supply side,” Mr. Chimphondah said.

Nairobi, 15 September 2020: – Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has underscored the importance of the housing and construction sector in the post Covid -19 recovery plans.

In a Speech read on his behalf by the Cabinet Secretary – Infrastructure, Roads, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. James Macharia, at the opening ceremony of Shelter Afrique’s 39th AGM and Symposium in Nairobi, The President said while it is one of the sectors that has been impacted adversely by the economic slowdown, housing and construction sector is also one of the sectors that can rebound quickly.

“The construction sector can therefore be targeted to lead the rebound in the broader economy. Economic history teaches us that the construction sector, including housing construction, has been very effective in driving economic recovery. Housing construction provides excellent opportunities for job creation,” President Kenyatta said, adding that while the construction sector requires significant capital, record-low interest rates have made the cost of financing construction projects remarkably affordable.

“The affordable housing agenda should remain front and center in the economic recovery debate due to the need to provide decent housing and essential infrastructure to all residents, especially the vulnerable populations living in slums and informal settlements,” The President said.

Since the beginning of the crisis, we have advocated that the construction of large-scale housing and related infrastructure can be the driver for economic revival in the Post-COVID era. This belief is reflected in the theme for the annual symposium and AGM, Affordable Housing Delivery as an Economic Revival Strategy in the COVID 19 Era in Africa,” Mr Chimphondah said.

“When we think about the Gig Economy, it often leaves out construction workers, but they are a critical group of that economy. The delivery of large-scale construction is imperative because it will reabsorb this neglected sector into active employment as well as having the capacity to absorb other sectors and downstream business. I am happy to note that some of our member states have taken note of our advocacy; supporting the construction industry during this pandemic,” he said, adding that the pandemic should inspire creative thinking and reinvention of supply-chains for construction within Africa.

Kenya is hosting Shelter Afrique’s 39th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 17th and annual housing symposium (September 15th). The event, which was scheduled to take place at Kenya’s coastal town of Malindi prior, will now be held virtually due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Internship programme

The pan African housing development financier has also announced the launch of the Shelter Afrique Internship Programme, a capacity development program under its Centre of Excellence (CoE) unit designed to attract young and talented multi-disciplinary individual from Shelter Afrique member countries, with outstanding academic, leadership, and professional qualities.

“The program will support Shelter Afrique in meeting its operational requirements in the medium to long term. The programme is anchored to the strategic goal of Shareholder and Development Impact. The roll-out of the programme for candidates across all our member countries will show our value to our member countries,” Shelter Afrique Board Chairman Steve Mainda said.

The details for application will be provided in the coming days with the first intake expected in January 2021.

Shelter-Afrique is a pan African housing finance and development institution established by African governments to address the need for sustainable housing delivery system and related infrastructure projects in Africa. Shareholders include 44 African countries, the African Development Bank, and the African Re-Insurance Corporation.

Nairobi: September 16, 2020: 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 Ksh20m (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.

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% 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.

Nairobi, Kenya – Thursday, September 3rd, 2020: Pan African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique has lauded the Federal Republic of Nigeria for its show of confidence in the institution. The organisation confirmed the receipt of the first tranche amounting to USD$9.4 million as part of Nigeria’s capital subscription. The contribution moves Nigeria to the second largest shareholding in the organisation with 14.77 per cent of the shareholding, behind Kenya with 14.87 per cent and ahead of the AfDB at 14.28 per cent.

• Nigeria, has committed $29.3 million to SHAF and becomes the second-largest shareholder in the institution, which is owned by 44 African governments, The African Development and Africa Re.
• The relationship between Nigeria and the institution has been growing in recent years; Nigeria hosts the West African Regional Office, it hosted the 36th Annual General Meeting and has featured prominently in Shelter Afrique activities.

Speaking in Nairobi, Shelter Afrique’s Group Managing Director, Mr Andrew Chimphondah commended the member countries have confidence that the institution is now better governed and has significantly improved its financial performance. As a result, shareholders have supported the recapitalisation of the institution as demonstrated by Nigeria’s significant capital injection.

“We are grateful to the Nigerian government for their continued support and the importance they have placed on affordable housing; we are especially grateful to the Honourable Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola for demonstrating this support through honouring this significant payment. We also recognise the role played by the Honourable Minister for State, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu. Additionally, we also appreciate Nigeria’s active shareholder and board participation ” Mr Chimphondah said.

The Group Managing Director continued, “it is especially heartening to see in this age of nationalism that our African countries embrace multilateralism and Pan-Africanism as we collectively seek to address African challenges. Countries like Nigeria, historically, have always been at the forefront of such activities.
The Housing financier confirmed that it had also received capital contributions from other countries; it has received a total of $16 million so far from Lesotho, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda Uganda, Togo, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

Housing Projects in Nigeria

The organisation is currently considering a USD$3 million equity participation in the newly created Nigeria Mortgage Guarantee Company (NMGC) having already been instrumental in the creation of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC). Other housing projects being considered are a Public-Private-Partnership with the Kaduna State 60,000 homes; this project is anticipated to create 300,000 jobs. The organisation is also in the final stages of providing lines of credits totalling USD$16 million to two Nigerian banks to create mortgages that will directly impact 4700 Nigerians.

Housing as an Engine Room for Economic Recovery

Speaking on the current pandemic, Mr Chimphondah noted that Shelter Afrique has been leading the advocacy for housing and infrastructure spending as a tool for post-COVID economic recovery. “We believe that every crisis offers opportunities; we believe the construction of housing is a critical path to recovery after Covid-19. Traditionally, governments have invested in large infrastructure and construction projects. We believe that capital projects are an essential panacea to stimulating African economies. We already see this practice adopted in Nigeria”.
Shelter Afrique is set to explore how construction and infrastructure development can boost the economy during their first-ever virtual Annual Symposium and AGM, which are scheduled to be held on the 15th and 17Th of September 2020 respectively.