Letshego Bank Namibia’s collaborative summit with the African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) and ATENU Developments has found that N$100,000 is sufficient to deliver a decent housing unit in the Havana informal settlement if serviced land is made available.
“It is evident that the major challenge in Namibia is not houses being unaffordable but that the challenge is people not being able to afford them. 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,” Letshego Group Chief Executive Officer Aupa Monyatsi.
Monyatsi said this at an African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) in partnership with Atenu Developments and Letshego Bank Namibia one-day seminar held in Windhoek under the theme: “Supporting Affordable Housing in Namibia”.
The seminar was aimed to discuss the support required for the successful delivery of affordable housing projects in the country.
“In Africa, housing is still a luxury, however, it needs to be considered a necessity and 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,” he said.
Speaking at the seminar, African Union for Housing Secretariat Executive Director Kecia Rust said the event was valuable for Namibia’s affordable housing sector as a lot of work still needs to be done, and it can only be done through dynamic public-private partnerships.
“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. We look forward to more key stakeholder engagements and collaborations to come up with the best affordable housing and housing finance solutions for Namibians,” Rust said.
In their commitment to being truly inclusive, Rust said Letshego Bank Namibia does not restrict the location of houses that they finance or those they provide capital to renovate.
Furthermore, by helping finance and renovate houses in more rural communities, Letshego Bank Namibia assists in bridging the home-ownership gap while supporting economic development within rural and emerging communities.
Letshego Bank Namibia’s Head of Credit James Damon said in line with its inclusive finance strategy, Letshego Bank Namibia has extended their reach to bring the value of affordable housing solutions to more underbanked members of the communities.
“For example, entrepreneurs or small business owners who have the means to pay the installments 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,’ he said.
Representing Atenu Developments, FundRoof’s Chief Executive Officer Samuel Akinin said there are many people who can afford a house, but there are not many houses 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,” he said.
The seminar was facilitated by executives from Letshego Group and Atenu Developments. It provided a credible forum for the African Union for Housing Finance 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.
