Driven by urbanization and demographic growth, the estimated need for affordable housing, at a global level, is 96,150 units per day. This represents a huge challenge but also constitutes an economic opportunity and a potential tool for economic development. Any strategy to address this challenge will need to take into account the particular constraints linked to developing societies, including the lack of resources, insufficient funds, skills shortages, and environmental challenges. Moladi of South Africa is innovating to address these challenges and build sustainable housing for the poor throughout the world.

Given the magnitude of the task, it is legitimate to ask if traditional building techniques can possibly provide the only answers. There is a strong case for innovative thinking in an industry that, at least in terms of basic building principles, has not changed fundamentally in centuries; and also for introducing completely different costing models. Additional challenges, when it comes to providing low-cost housing, include scarcity of suitable land, urban density, overcrowding, environmentally unfriendly building materials, and the complications of servicing housing areas with ancillary infrastructures such as water, sanitation, and electricity.