Bank of Tanzania (BoT’s) Housing Finance Programme in collaboration with the African Union Housing Finance, has organised a three-day conference to be held in Dar es Salaam later this year.

Themed, Growing Housing Opportunities in Africa: Encouraging Investment and Growing the Market, the meeting will begin October 8 and will be opened by the Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development minister Prof Anna Tibaijuka.
Tanzania’s experiences in growing it’s mortgage market and promoting the delivery of affordable housing while actively addressing the market where mortgages cannot go, will assume centerfield at the meeting, a statement issued yesterday has said.

The experiences in Tanzania will be of particular interest to other countries exploring the potential of a mortgage liquidity facility, or who have already ventured on this path and wish to consider alternative approaches to the concept.
The event will start with a showcase of successful developments in progress, whereby delegates will be invited to choose four of ten projects, which will be presented simultaneously in a housing development marketplace.

This will be followed by a session of exploring the different ways by which the needs of low-income population can be served by the provision of micro-mortgages through to sustainable housing microfinance.

They will focus on, ways to encourage investor interest through the development of sustainable investment models, data collection and development of lender track records.
Another focus will be on growing the market through development of niche market interventions and products that meet the breadth of the housing need.
The different examples offer housing practitioners useful insight into opportunities for their own growth and development.

According to the statement, the conference will enable delegates to define their own roles in growing housing opportunities in Africa. Whether delegates are government officials, investors, developers, lenders or members of civil society, the conference will offer each participant useful insights and evidence for promoting housing in their own local contexts.

It is considered fortuitous to hold the conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development and the Bank of Tanzania are currently working together in partnership with the World Bank, and with the private sector to grow housing opportunities in a focused and systematic manner, it said.
It added that it is widely recognised that Africa’s rapidly developing economies and cities offer tremendous opportunities, and challenges, for housing development and investment.

Urbanisation rates in Africa are the highest in the world, and positive growth over the last decade has put many countries in a position to assertively address the housing situations of their populations.

While the mortgage sector remains small, developments in many countries suggest that this is changing. Housing practitioners across the continent are beginning to grapple with and understand the opportunities available and are developing precisely targeted products and projects.

Their work begins to chart pathways for new entrants into the sector, and this will contribute towards the growth of the housing sector across the continent.
Governments, too, are recognizing the integral role of housing in overall economic growth, and are addressing the regulatory and policy constraints to housing investment, opening up further opportunities for growth, it said.