Shelter Afrique has won Pan-Africa Affordable Housing promoter of the Year Award.
The Award conferred by Nigeria Housing Awards (NHA) at the close the 2019 Abuja International Housing Show, was in recognition of the organisation’s contribution to the provision of affordable housing and reduction of slum dwelling in many African countries.
Handing over the Award to Shelter Afrique’s Regional Representative for West Africa Elizabeth Ogonegbu, Abuja International Housing Show Chairman Festus Adebayor lauded Shelter Afrique for its efforts to bring to the fore front the affordable housing agenda across Africa.
“The issue of the provision of affordable housing has become a crisis across Africa, and more so in Nigeria. We believe that this Award is to appreciate and recognize Shelter Afrique’s contribution in addressing this crisis under the leadership of their new Chief Executive Officer Andrew Chimphondah,” Adebayor said.
“We hope this Award will encourage Shelter Afrique to do even more as it focuses its efforts towards meeting the needs of the continent’s rapidly growing population.”
Chimphondah said that over the past few years, the company had been focusing more on provision of affordable housing as its key priority through fostering of successful public private partnerships to expand the supply of low-cost housing and increase access to home ownership to low-income populations across Africa.
“We have realised that within the African continent, the real demand for housing is very high among the less privileged and low income populace. This is why we have concentrated our efforts in driving developers to build lower costing housing through innovative and alternative building methods, especially in projects we finance or those that we have stake in. We are humbled by this award which represents the efforts our management and staff directed by our very committed Board. We are happy that our efforts have been recognized at a continental level supporting the 4 projects we successfully launched in 2019,” Chimphondah said.
“We have a number of initiatives geared towards enhancing housing affordability across Africa. In Kenya, for instance, we have partnered with the government and the UN Habitat to develop a social housing scheme within Mavoko Municipality under the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) and we are currently supporting the Pan African slum eradication program in Uganda,” Chimphondah added.
Shelter Afrique has also invested in the mortgage refinance companies in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Togo. The Company has also signed memoranda of understanding with the governments of Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Central Africa Republic for the provision of affordable houses through public private partnerships structured by Shelter Afrique.
