Category: news-room-2015

 

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing and real estate sector in Africa has signed an MoU with the Nigerian Police Force for the delivery of affordable housing units to the police force cooperative.

The MoU will see the parties come together to execute a housing programme with a 25000 benchmark in view, with the first phase delivering 3000 units between Abuja, Lagos, Ogun and five other operational zones. It is anticipated that the NPF will provide land for development and Shelter Afrique providing 70 per cent of debt financing.

The Nigerian Police force indicated that the rationale behind this was to improve the welfare and standard of living of its personnel through the provision of quality and affordable housing, they continued that they expect that increases in welfare would be proportional to increases in service delivery.

Shelter Afrique added that the project met all its key criteria, especially affordability and quality of design and product, they continued that they were especially keen to have the project delivered in a timely fashion.

The Mou also brings in Powerchina Kunming Engineering as the contractors for development, it is expected that the feasibility study for the first phase will be concluded in December 2015”.

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing and real estate sector in Africa has signed an agreement with Devimco of DR Congo for the construction of a 7 -floor office building for rental purposes.
This is the fourth time that the two parties have entered into agreement, with Shelter Afrique having financed four landmark projects of Devmico’s, namely La Tradition, Le Concorde, L’Ambassadeur and Azda. Speaking on the agreement at the headquarters in Nairobi, the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, Mr. James Mugerwa enthused on the possibilities real estate presented in the DRC, “This is the second time this year we will be making in-roads into the DRC, as you may recall we signed a USD10.6M deal with Raw Bank for on-lending in March. Our increased activity in the country is a reflection of the huge potential the country holds for real estate”.
Mugerwa also touched on the need for such partnerships for real estate to thrive, he remarked that the relationship between Devimco and Shelter Afrique is one that dates back to the 2008 and in that time four projects had been completed, he also mentioned that it was especially necessary in a country like the DRC where large scale developers were not readily available.
Mugerwa also called on government to play a bigger role in providing affordable housing to citizens, stating that DRC joined Shelter Afrique as a member in 2004 and in that time Shelter Afrique has gradually ramped up its presence, Mugerwa also revealed that DRC will play a strategic role in the operations of Shelter Afrique.
“We are currently retooling our strategy and soon we will roll out a strategy that sees us move closer to our market; we will be operating a regional office out of Kinshasa and we currently have an exposure of about USD 13.35 million in the DRC”.
The new Devimco project will be called Le 130 and is targeted at the Telecommunications, FMCG and Financial Services.

Shelter Afrique the Pan-African finance institution exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing and real estate sector in Africa, today, broke ground with partner Karibu Homes-Parktel at the Riverview Estate located in Athi River, Mavoko.
In attendance were the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Charity Ngilu, senior representatives from the Ministry of Lands, the Managing Director and senior management of Shelter Afrique, the founders of Karibu Homes-Parktel as well as senior representatives from Housing Finance, KCB, Rafiki DTM, Jamii Bora and Standard Bank.
Welcoming participants to the ground breaking ceremony, the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique Mr. James Mugerwa commented on his belief that projects of scale were necessary for affordable housing, adding “I have always personally felt that the housing sector would benefit largely from scalability; projects of scale; this is something that I am very passionate about and this is something I can assure you Shelter Afrique will be involved in going forward”.
1074 units will be constructed on the Riverview estate from prices ranging from KSH1.6M to KSH5M, with different products from turnkey to products which homeowners can finish themselves.
The project will be staggered in phases with work on the first phase already begun; the entire cost of the project is set at KSH 2.9bn with Shelter Afrique providing KSH540M for the first phase of development and funding for subsequent phases.
Addressing participants the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Mrs. Charity Ngilu commended Shelter Afrique and Karibu Homes-Parktel for the development but used the opportunity to challenge all stakeholders to do more, she went on to say “I would like to take the challenge to the management of Shelter Afrique, I want to see more and I am sure I speak for the people of Kenya, they want to see more”
The ground-breaking ceremony also featured the ceremonial laying of a cornerstone by the Cabinet Secretary, the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique and the Founders of Karibu Homes-Parktel.

Shelter Afrique; the Pan-African finance institution, exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing and real estate sector in Africa received a delegation from the Ministry of Housing and the NHCC, Uganda.

The delegation which was led by the Minister of Lands, Honorable Daudi Migereko also comprised of the NHCC Chair, Amb. Agnes Kalibbala and the Acting Managing Director of the NHCC, Mr. Parity Twinomujuni. The delegation was received by the Managing Director of Shelter Afrique, Mr. James Mugerwa for a two-day working visit.

Top of the agenda was the MoU signed between Shelter Afrique and the Ministry of Lands and Housing Uganda, it will be recalled that the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the 28th of October 2014. The MoU will see the two party’s partner for the delivery of large scale affordable housing and other related infrastructure specifically for social housing and middle-income earners.

The Government of Uganda has identified and secured land of approximately 260 Hectares (650 acres) in various parts of the country. In addition, land at various locations under Uganda Land Commission as well as privately owned land has been identified and earmarked for development of the housing Program. The project is currently at the feasibility stage with a consultant identified to carry out the study which will include 40 days of fieldwork and submission a detailed report.

It is expected that the project will move to pre-development stage after the feasibility is concluded; pre-development will involve sourcing debt and construction partners. Both institutions committed themselves to providing solutions to rising demand for housing in Uganda.

Shelter Afrique has a long history with Uganda; this visit follows on from recent signing of the MoU with the Ministry of Lands; the signing with the NHCC Uganda for a $9 Million facility in July of 2014.

Beyond that the company also has a number of notable projects previously undertaken in Uganda, including: Namuwongo slum upgrading in partnership with the Government; Naalya Project, NHCC’s first project with SHELTER-AFRIQUE; Simbamanyo commercial building currently housing a Government Ministry and Hotel Afrique Suites.

The two day working visit also include site visits to some of Shelter Afrique marquee projects in the city of Nairobi.