Firm gets $9m loan facility

Urban housing financier Shelter Afrique has signed a $9 million loan agreement with Uganda's National Housing and Construction Company (NHCC). The facility will help boost the supply of affordable housing in Uganda.

Shelter Afrique Acting Managing Director Yekini Olayanju said the agreement is a step in the right direction and marks an important milestone for the two institutions.

"We are committed to supporting the government of Uganda in rolling out housing projects through a public-private partnership that will pave way for possible increase in capital subscription to ensure effective intervention for shelter Afrique in the Ugandan market," he said.

The agreement was signed in Nairobi by Olayanju and the National Housing and Construction Company Chairperson Agnes Kalibbala, and witnessed by Uganda's Minister of Housing Daudi Migereko and the NHCC Managing Director, Mr Felix Okoboi.

Migereko lauded the move by NHCC to engage Shelter Afrique in its attempts to improve affordable housing in Uganda and urged the company to explore other ways of working with Shelter Afrique.

"As a ministry, we are doing a good job but we have to do more and in good time. We also have to look at ways to make the cost of housing materials cheaper, we have to find a way to become a part of the value-chain so we can control the cost, which has been the prohibitive factor in acquiring houses in Uganda," the minister said.

Kalibbala thanked the minister and the staff of Shelter Afrique for successfully concluding the loan deal, adding that this will go a long way in addressing the housing deficit in Uganda.

"The signing is the culmination of hard work, a very big step and the beginning of a beneficial relationship between Shelter Afrique and NHCC," she said.

"Housing is one of the biggest problems in Uganda and I'm very optimistic the project will help the Ugandan people access affordable housing," added Kalibbala.