Kenya remains biggest Shelter Afrique shareholder

Kenya continues to retain its pole position as the biggest shareholder in Pan-African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique, as more countries seek to boost their portfolio.

As the 42nd Annual General Meeting of the Pan-African company came to a close over the weekend, Kenya's shares in the institution stood at 16.85 per cent despite the new scramble for bigger stakes in the institution.

Nigeria was the latest country to raise its stake in the institution with $7.15 million in additional capital subscription in 2022, placing the West African nation in second place with a 15.8 per cent shareholding.

Over the last six months of 2022, the institution received increased capital subscriptions from other countries including Swaziland and Burkina Faso.

After Kenya and Nigeria, the other top shareholders include African Development Bank (12.6 per cent), Mali (5.3 per cent) and Ghana (5.05).

The new developments come against the backdrop of increased policy focus and funding shifts towards affordable housing projects across Africa.

Kenya has continued supporting the Nairobi-based housing financier and has been regularly boosting its stake, pumping in Sh992 million in 2021.

At the just concluded 42nd AGM, Nigeria's Minister for Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola who was elected as the new Chair of Shelter Afrique AGM Bureau said the organization is geared towards pursuing new strategies to restructure and raise more resources to support affordable housing initiatives across the continent.

The outgoing chairman, Zimbabwe's Minister of National Housing and Social Amenities, Daniel Garwe, encouraged member states to pay their subscriptions.

Some of the new funding sources the organization is eyeing include the bond market.

Shelter Afrique recently floated a bond in Nigeria for housing and urban development. The firm plans to issue similar bonds in Kenya and other East African countries.

The institution also recently announced that it is exploring ways of harnessing diaspora remittances to fund housing development, especially in Kenya and Nigeria which are the largest recipients of diaspora remittances.

Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru who represented Kenya at the symposium said the country will continue maintaining its position as the leading supporter and shareholder of Shelter Afrique.

"Kenya is the host of Shelter Afrique and is also the biggest shareholder in this very important Pan-African institution. We will continue supporting its growth to ensure it has the financial muscle to fund affordable housing projects in Africa," said the CS who spoke to the media after the AGM.

The CS was accompanied by Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga.

The Pan-African organization recently launched a new strategic plan dubbed the "New Dawn".

The new plan is expected to position the institution on the path of growth by improving its governance, operational and financial performance.

"The rationale behind our new strategy is to align with member countries' housing development needs to reposition the company for growth and improve operational, financial and government performance," Shelter Afrique Thierno-Haib Hann CEO said.

Speakers at the 42nd AGM which was held under the theme, "Political Economy in the Built Environment" said the housing sector has the potential to help Africa reverse the current economic slowdown and should be given priority in terms of policy and funding.

Experts called for the harmonization and standardization of housing market data to support government intervention in the housing sector."

"Almost all the data we use are estimates, therefore the first challenge around the built environment meeting the SDGs and the AU 63 Agenda is the absence of data. Whatever you can not measure, you cannot manage," Prof Adedoyin Salami, the Chief Economic Advisor to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria said.

Affordable ways of filling the housing deficit in Africa were top on the agenda at the AGM that was held in Abuja, Nigeria.

Ministers from the 44 member countries that also double up as investors of the Nairobi-based organization gathered in the Nigerian capital for the past week where they discussed best practices and lessons in the provision of affordable housing.

During his visit to Nigeria, CS Njeru was taken on a tour of Zuba Affordable Housing Project in Abuja by his Nigerian counterpart, Fashola who later won the contest to become the Chairman of the organization.

To address the housing deficits resulting from the quick-paced urbanization, many African countries including Kenya have started ambitious projects to build affordable houses.

In 2021, Kenya was among 24 States that signed the Yaounde Declaration that seeks to enhance mechanisms for the mass production of decent and affordable housing on the continent.

The government is partnering with the private sector to build 200,000 affordable housing units annually.

Kenya's approach has attracted continental attention and several delegations visiting Nairobi to study how the programme is being implemented.

The last delegation to visit Kenya to study the Affordable Housing Programme was from Zimbabwe. A Nigerian delegation is also scheduled for a similar benchmarking tour in June.

Shelter Afrique was established in 1982 and has a membership of 44 African countries that double up as its shareholders.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Reinsurance Corporation are also shareholders of the only Pan-African finance institution that is exclusively dedicated to housing and real estate development.

The institution currently has a project pipeline of Sh120 billion across the 44 member countries.