Addressing the Challenge of Housing Finance in Urban Africa

Abstract

Housing remains a basic human necessity that people, governments and societies have sought to meet using different methods and approaches over the years. The cost of housing provision has always been quite significant, often representing a person's largest single expenditure throughout life. Across the continent, many initiatives have been pursued to help ensure ample housing supply, with varying degrees of success. This paper therefore explores some of the various housing finance initiatives that have been introduced across many African countries since the colonial era. The study also examines possible solutions to the constraints militating against the funding of mass home ownership in Africa, especially in view of the implications of the continent's fast-rising population and its significant youth bulge. The study further identifies the key drivers of housing finance provision, the thorough understanding of which is central to adequately addressing the continent's considerable housing deficit, which the study also seeks to reasonably estimate. Successfully addressing the challenge of housing finance in urban Africa will firmly and directly contribute towards achieving the following specific Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 1 – No Poverty; SDG 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth; SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure; SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities and SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities.