Supporting affordable housing in Namibia

The African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF), in partnership with Atenu Developments and Letshego Bank Namibia, recently hosted a one-day seminar under the theme: 'Supporting affordable housing in Namibia'.

It aimed to discuss the support required for the successful delivery of affordable housing projects in the country.

“In Africa, housing is still a luxury – but needs to be considered a necessity,” Letshego Group CEO Aupa Monyatsi said. “Being able to buy or build your own house provides stability, financial security, sustainability and dignity. We are keen on delivering affordable housing through a model that is sustainable for our customers and is financially inclusive to all segments of society."

Access is achievable

The participants visited the Havana informal settlement, where they discovered that it is possible to deliver a decent home unit at N$100 000 with an informal income when serviced land is made available.

AUHF secretariat executive director Kecia Rust said: “This event was valuable for the Namibia affordable housing sector. It was remarkable to see different stakeholders sharing their experiences, and ideas to cut the red tape and accelerate home ownership in rural and urban areas in Namibia. A lot of work still needs to be done, and it can only be done through dynamic public-private partnerships. We look forward to more key stakeholder engagements and collaborations to come up with the best affordable housing and housing finance solutions for Namibians”.

In its commitment to being truly inclusive, Letshego Bank Namibia said it does not restrict the location of homes it finances or those it provides capital to renovate. By helping finance and renovate homes in more rural communities, Letshego Bank Namibia assists in bridging the home ownership gap while supporting economic development within rural and emerging communities.

“Affordable housing should lead to more homeowners and entrepreneurs. For us at Letshego Bank, it is about seeking opportunities to impact and improve lives for people,” head of credit, James Damon, said.

“A key takeaway from the conference is that affordable housing should be a collaborative effort between government and the

private sector and should encompass the full value chain - from making land available at affordable rates, servicing and developing this land at minimal input costs to making tailor-made financial solutions available to the end user“.

Inclusive finance

In line with its inclusive finance strategy, Letshego Bank Namibia has extended its reach to bring the value of its affordable housing solutions to more underbanked members of its communities. For example, entrepreneurs or small business owners who have the means to pay the instalments on housing or home renovation loans, yet struggle to qualify as they don’t meet onerous, formal credit criteria set by traditional banks, such as providing collateral.

Representing Atenu Developments, FundRoof’s CEO Samuel Akinin said: “Today was an exciting day. We filled the room with members of the public sector, lenders, developers, financiers, educators and stakeholders, and held discussions about the challenges and opportunities around the provision of affordable housing in Namibia”.

“There are many people who can afford a home, but there are not many homes that are affordable. Our company Atenu Developments has been building affordable housing across Namibia. The seminar was a unique opportunity to meet stakeholders and discuss synergies and partnership opportunities between the public and private sector, including exciting initiatives like our Proptech: FundRoof, which is looking to digitise the mortgage process across the value chain.”

The seminar was facilitated by executives from Letshego Group and Atenu Developments. It provided a credible forum for the AUHF members, the wider housing sector and representatives from local government to grapple with the key issues facing the affordable housing value chain. It also helped in the sharing of best practices and ways to promote easily accessible affordable housing for the public.

One of the panel speakers, Letshego Group head of programmatic lending Lucy Kiai, said: “Digitising lending not only makes our affordable housing solutions accessible but also more efficient, cost-effective and innovative. It can be a new home, home renovation or accessing an accredited network of builders and suppliers - our customers simply make a few clicks online or via a mobile phone. This is how Letshego makes a difference in the lives of more individuals”.