Shelter Afrique: Best Real Estate Finance Company Africa 2021
Shelter Afrique is purpose-driven: committed to increasing access to decent affordable low cost housing. The pan-African development financial institution has partnered with 44 governments, the African Development Bank , African Reinsurance Corporation and Fonds De Solidarite Africain (FSA) to improve living conditions across the continent. Shelter Afrique views decent housing as a fundamental human right — and a moral obligation for the company. According to the United Nations Human Settlement Programme(UN-Habitat), there are some 238 million people living in slums in Sub-Saharan Africa, while Shelter Afrique’s Centre of Excellence cites a housing shortage of 56 million units. The company addresses this crisis through public and private partnerships to turn slums into decent housing, applying social distancing to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases. It finances projects to rebuild war-damaged homes and promote certified green housing projects. It has earmarked over $1bn to finance new housing projects as part of its 2019-2023 strategic plan, with the goal of mobilising $20m of annual equity capital from existing and new members. It works with capital markets to issue bonds, provides lines of credit and is developing a platform to facilitate institutional funding. It is launching a $500m local currency bond in November 2021 to work with developers and financial institutions in their own currency. Shelter Afrique also offers capacity building, advocacy and affordable housing research services. The company, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in June 2021, has 44 African countries who have subscribed to Class A Shares and 3 Large Financial institutions who have subscribed to Class B shareholders. The CFI.co judging panel announces Shelter Afrique as the 2021 award winner for Best Real Estate Finance Company (Africa).
