Developing Solutions for Expanding Affordable Housing Finance in the WAEMU Region

AHI worked with the World Bank to address the challenge of limited access to housing finance across the WAEMU region. Expanding housing finance is necessary to alleviate housing shortages that have only grown worse throughout the region as populations grow and urbanization accelerates. Thus, the objective of this work was to assist BOAD, the West African Development Bank, in facilitating such an expansion in the reach of housing finance across all income groups in WAEMU member countries. AHI produced an analytical report including an action plan on operationalizing recommendations and a Low Income Housing Finance review and strategic plan. AHI also assessed the long-term funding gap and risk management practices. Guidelines to develop for new funding products to expand affordable housing finance were proposed. The study’s recommendations led to a $150 million IDA loan to finance the region’s mortgage refinancing company (CRRH).