Housing Finance in Africa 2023:
Cabo Verde launched its first blue bond on the Blu-X sustainable finance platform in January 2023 in alignment with the country’s focus on blue finance, an emerging area in climate finance. This is the first initial public offering (IPO) listed on Blu-X and the bond could generate CVE 360 685 (US$3 568) in private finance. The bond aims to raise investment in Cabo Verde’s Ocean economy while divesting from polluting industries. Cabo Verde had previously issued four sustainable bonds totalling CVE 3.349 billion (US$33.13 million) through a strategic partnership between the Cabo Verde Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde – BVC) and the UNDP under Cabo Verde’s integrated national financing framework (INFF).
Blue Finance seeks to help safeguard access to clean water, protect underwater environments, and invest in a sustainable water economy. Blue bonds and blue loans are innovative financing instruments that raise funds for investments in water and wastewater management or offshore renewable energy. Given the proximity of the housing infrastructure to the seafront and that approximately 80% of the population resides in the coastal zones prone to sea-level rise, these investments will assist with some of the challenges faced in the housing sector in the country and assist in improving the relatively poor river network and improve discharge flows and increase the resilience to water scarcity and/or drought in the country.
UN-Habitat, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and the Clean Cooling Collaborative support the government of Burkina Faso in implementing a social housing project focused on energy efficiency. The overall goal is to reduce energy demand and improve energy efficiency in the housing sector. The use of local materials by Burkinabè architect Diébédo Francis KERE, winner of the 2022 Pritzker Prize, has contributed significantly to their promotion.
In the commune of Saaba, the Abdoul Service International company has built a modern, secure eco-city called “Cité de la Nouvelle Génération”, covering one hectare and comprising 27 flats in a three-story building, a crèche, a garden, a basketball court, a car park, and a water tower.
The urban restructuring project for the Saaba non-loti area includes innovative financing arrangements. Three innovative financing options are proposed: full financing by 90% of residents, shared financing between developers and 90% of residents, or shared financing between developers, residents, and concessionaires.
Easy Housing is a circular and climate-resilient building technology that uses sustainably sourced timber and biobased materials to create affordable housing in a matter of weeks. The homes are prefabricated in an Entebbe workshop before assembly onsite. The timber is treated for termites and fire hazards. The homes are single-store dwellings for families in the affordable housing market, ranging in size from one-bedroom 32m2 homes costing USh26 million (US$7 100) to three-bedroom, 60m2 at USh45.4million (US$12 300).
Easy Housing has completed projects in Kampala and West Nile and is scaling up production, and building homes in Entebbe and Kampala in Q3-Q4 of 2023. (The social enterprise also operates in Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania). It plans to sell carbon credits to offset and mitigate CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, which will reduce unit prices.
Casa Real is an affordable housing developer based in the coastal city of Beira. Since 2018, Casa Real has disrupted the market by promoting access to decent, affordable, and safe homes for low and middle-income families. The condominium development in Inhamizua offers housing typologies ranging from a basic one-bedroom, 26m2 house with a sale price of MT621 000 (US$9 7445) to a 55m2 two-bedroom house priced at MT1.6 million (US$25 109). In the pilot phase, 10 homes were constructed and in phase two, 71 homes have been completed. The developer has plans to complete a 180-house development for 900 people, that is fully serviced with basic infrastructure.
The houses are conveniently built to be adapted and expanded to suit households’ specific needs. The structures are designed as cyclone-resistant essential features for Mozambique’s coastal cities. Casa Real’s newest range of homes are eco homes with installed solar panels and rainwater recycling systems.