Shelter Afrique Bank and CPF Group to partner in affordable housing

Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB), a Pan-African institution committed to financing and advancing housing, urban, and related infrastructure development, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CPF Group aimed at scaling up the development of large-scale affordable housing projects in Kenya.

The agreement, which is expected to bolster Shelter Afrique Development Bank’s mandate of providing decent and affordable housing in Africa, was signed in Nairobi by CPF Group Managing Director Dr Hosea Kili and Shelter Afrique Development Bank Head of Credit and Operations Christopher Chege on behalf of the Managing Director Thierno-Habib Hann.

During the signing, Chege explained that their primary strategy is the provision of affordable housing across member states through public-private partnerships.

“As a company, our overriding strategy is the provision of affordable housing across our member states through public-private partnerships.

This strategic partnership with CPF Group will be key in expanding our projects in Kenya,” Chege said.

The agreement aims to provide a platform for intervention across the affordable housing value chain by creating a partnership in affordable housing delivery through co-financing.

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It also seeks to establish a Housing Solutions Fund for Kenya, which will address both the supply and demand sides of the affordable housing value chain. ShafDB and CPF Group will jointly design and manage the Fund, including offering capital raising and technical support for the management of the Fund.

Dr Kili lauded the partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank noting: “We are excited to partner with Shelter Afrique Development and leverage each institution as we jointly address the perennial problem of decent and affordable housing in Kenya. This partnership opens up opportunities for collaboration in many areas, including product and service design and finding innovative funding solutions for our current and future projects.”

Kenya has a total housing deficit of two million units, a number that could rise due to high population growth rates and a high urbanisation rate of 4.4 per cent, well above the global average of 2.1 per cent.

Out of Kenya’s total population of 50.6 million, 29 per cent reside in urban areas. To address the housing conundrum, the State has put in place a global framework through the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) to deliver 250,000 housing units per year, compared to the current 50,000 annual deliveries.

Chege concluded, “It is against this background that Shelter Afrique Development Bank and CPF Group are joining forces through the Collaboration Agreement to scale up affordable housing delivery. We believe our partnership with CPF Group will deepen our impact on Kenya’s, and by extension, Africa’s affordable housing value chain, from both the supply and demand sides.”