Shelter Afrique , a partnership of 44 African Governments, the African Development Bank and the Africa Reinsurance Company, will be hosting their 36th Annual General Meeting in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
The Minister of Public Works and National Housing Saviour Kasukuwere is the current first vice-president of the organisation after being elected at the 35th Annual General Meeting in Abuja in June last year. Minister Kasukuwere will be leading a delegation from Shelter Afrique expected in the country soon to assess the country’s state of preparedness ahead of the Annual General Meeting.
Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships and offers a host of products and related services to support the efficient delivery of affordable housing and commercial real estate. These include project finance, institutional lending, equity investments and joint ventures, trade finance and social housing.
The organisation also offers practical advice and technical assistance to a wide range of industry stakeholders. It works with development partners, member states and micro-finance institutions on social housing initiatives that promote access to affordable housing and infrastructure services to low income groups.
The organisation particularly favours large scale projects, which have Government support (Public Private Partnerships) and those that are environmentally sustainable.A number of local financial institutions have received some lines of credit from Shelter Afrique and these include CBZ Bank, Cabs and Banc ABC.
In 2014, Shelter Afrique had authorised share capital of $1 billion, cumulative loan approvals of $926 million, cumulative loan disbursement of $477 million and 25 projects in 10 countries.
The officials from Shelter Afrique are expected in the country in the next two weeks. An official involved in the preparations said the meeting would take place in July and the authorities are taking it very seriously as it is an important event.
