Category: news-room

 

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.

Shelter Afrique; the Pan-African Finance Institution exclusively supporting the development of affordable housing has appointed Arc. Mariamu El-Mawy as the new chairman of its board.

The appointment was made during the 104th board meeting which took place at its headquarters in Nairobi; Kenya. It will be recalled that a new board was appointed at 33rd the Annual General Meeting which held in Abidjan Cote D’Ivoire.

The board, which consists of ten members, also welcomed new members representing different groups; the new members are Alh. Yahaya Hameed Yakubu from Ghana; Mr. Ceferino Eburi Mata from E.Guinea, Mr. Sanders Mutandwa a Zimbabwean nation representing the African Development Bank and Mrs. Kanini Mutooni a Kenya national who will serve as an independent director.

Arc. El-Mawy is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and was elected to the board in 2013. According to the statutes and by-laws of the housing financier the board is expected to serve a term of three years after which a new board will be elected.

The new board members were welcomed and tasked to see themselves as more than directors for the groups they represented or their countries of origin but to challenge themselves as directors of a Pan-African institution whose activities has lasting impact on several African families. The next board meeting is expected to convene in December of 2014.

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.