The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a USD 30 Million Line of Credit and a USD 7.5 Million equity investment to Shelter-Afrique.
The LOC will be used for on-lending to private real estate developers and housing finance companies to finance housing projects and related infrastructure services. The equity investment will strengthen Shelter-Afrique's capital base. In addition, a Technical assistance grant of USD 0.95 million will be provided by the ADB-managed Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), a trust fund established by contributions from the Government of Japan to finance capacity building activities.
Shelter-Afrique is a pan-African housing finance and development institution established in 1981 by African governments, the AfDB, Africa-Reinsurance Co. and Commonwealth Development Corporation Group (CDC), to mobilize funds and support provision of sustainable housing in Africa.
The Bank's updated private sector operations strategy calls for closer collaboration with development partners in order to deepen the impact of the Bank's private sector operations. In particular, the strategy seeks to reach out to SMEs that cannot access AfDB resources directly. AfDB's support to these DFIs helps to unlock their full potential and maximize synergies that have so far been partially exploited.
This investment complements those of other development partners working with Shelter-Afrique to address the housing problems on the continent. Through this partnership, the AfDB will be able to increase its development impact on the continent by supporting sustainable provision of housing, creating jobs, developing local financial systems, transfer of technology, developing Africa's private sector and enhancing regional integration.