Nairobi – Tuesday, March 16, 2021: Pan African housing development financier Shelter Afrique has received USD 2 million (€1,724,397.54) from the Government of Mali, being the full settlement of its capital subscription arrears.Mali becomes the fifth shareholder to settle in full both the 2013 and 2017 capital calls from Shelter Afrique after Zimbabwe ,Lesotho,Morocco and Namibia .
This comes days after Togo’s Government committed to settle its outstanding capital subscription which currently stands at USD103,000. Additionally, the Government of Togo is in talks with Shelter Afrique to increase its capital subscription to 10% in order to secure a permanent seat on the Company’s Board.
Speaking in Nairobi, Shelter Afrique’s Group Managing Director, Mr Andrew Chimphondah, lauded Mali’s government for its show of confidence in the institution and recalled that Mali had often led the way in ensuring that the Company is well capitalised.
“This is a strong show of confidence in Shelter Afrique by member countries that the institution is now better governed and has significantly improved its financial performance. As a result, shareholders have supported the institution’s recapitalisation as demonstrated by Mali’s capital injection and recent contributions from other countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Morocco, Lesotho, and Namibia,” Mr Chimphondah noted. The Company has in the last few years raised a total of 82 million dollars and continues to advocate for collective action on affordable housing in Africa.
Robust loan pipeline
Mr Chimphondah noted that the capital payment comes at an ideal time for the Company; Shelter Afrique has built a healthy loan pipeline following business resumption in 2019.
“We have built a robust loan pipeline of US$842 million since we resumed processing of new loans in 2019. This means that we require a strong capital base to finance the various housing projects across the continent. Member countries and shareholders honoring their capital obligations very critical to support Shelter Afrique in its quest to deliver decent and affordable homes to All Africans given the gaping housing shortage of 56 million housing units throughout Africa ,” Mr Chimphondah said.
Besides capital subscription, the Chief Executive said the Company was reviewing various capital raising options, including debt options through the issuance of local currency bonds to develop and deepen the capital markets in Africa.
“We are looking at raising an East African bond (key markets like Kenya (to service Kenya mainly and other countries within the East African Region ), Nigeria (for a Naira-denominated bond) and an FCFA bond,” Mr Chimphondah said.
In readiness for return to the capital market, Shelter Afrique recently entered into a strategic partnership with the World Bank. The latter extended a Ksh22m (USD200,000) grant to support the Company’s capital market program. The funding will enhance Shelter Afrique’s institutional, operational and technical capacity targeting the reinstatement of the Company’s investment-grade credit rating and a strong return to the capital markets.
Shelter-Afrique is a pan African housing finance and development institution established by African governments to address the need for a sustainable housing delivery system and related infrastructure projects in Africa. Shareholders include 44 African countries, the African Development Bank, and the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa-Re).