The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Shelter Afrique, Mr. Thierno-Habib Hann, Monday, said the firm is ready to scale up affordable housing in Nigeria with the investment of over $500m (N200bn).
Hann, who spoke in Abuja during the opening of the company’s 42nd Annual General Meeting, also reiterated the firm’s commitment to scaling up affordable housing across Africa.
Shelter Afrique is a pan-African finance institution created to exclusively support the development of African real estate and housing.
He said; “In the course of the event, the company was hit with maladministration and inefficiency; Nigeria and Zimbabwe took a leadership role to resolve the issues and today we are proud that we managed to restructure the organization. We now have a pan- African bank focusing and ensuring that affordable funding is availed to members for social housing delivery.
“Our objective is to scale up affordable housing across the continent. We are really engaged in Nigeria, last year we have been issuing these bonds and this is a programme that will be done in a few years with over $500m (N200bn) to be invested. “We have done the first tranche and we are going to do more and more of it. The idea is really to work with financial institutions, large-scale developers, and government through public-private partnerships and set up funds targeting $1bn for the continent sharing across different regions, being climate resilient, gender friendly, and most importantly generating jobs for the populace.
In his address, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, said Nigeria had contributed immensely to the growth of the company, saying the country’s contribution stands at $22,503,144.84, which brought Nigeria’s shareholding in the company to 15.80 % valued at $30,724,961.00.
He said: “Today, I feel very proud to say that the Shelter Afrique that hosts you, is a much stronger company and a better version of that which I inherited in 2016. With every sense of modesty, I am happy to announce that my country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has played a commendable role in that collective action.
“Between the 2016 AGM which was the 35th and this year’s AGM which is the 42nd, Nigeria has made contributions of $5,959,178.27 in 2017; $9,392,135.66 in 2020 and
$7,151,830.91 in 2022 making a total of $22,503,144.84.This brings Nigeria’s shareholding in the company to 15.80 %valued at $30,724,961.00.
“For a company that was struggling for funding in 2016, this was a much-needed injection of life-restoring capital and I must say that other member states have responded in kind. Beyond financial capital, Nigeria has also contributed the most important capital – The human capital, by offering Mr. Femi Adewole, to provide interim leadership for the company at perhaps its most turbulent period.
“With this background, as we convene today I can say with a measure of confidence that for Shelter Afrique, the dark clouds are gone, and a bright new future of renewed hope lies ahead, especially with the leadership provided by our company’s Board and management led respectively by Dr Chii Akporji and Mr
Thierno-Habib Hann.
“On the domestic front, I am also pleased to report an increasing private sector participation in the delivery of an assortment of housing types for low- and high-income demand. With their control over land, within our Federal constitutional arrangement, State Governments are playing their roles in the supply of housing from Abia to Zamfara’’.
