Shelter Afrique in Sh740m deal with doctors’ housing co-op

Pan African housing firm Shelter Afrique has loaned the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) Housing Co-operative Sh740 million to construct houses in Mombasa.

The five-year loan will be used to build 160 houses in Mtwapa. The loan, with a 13.5 per cent interest, is the first lending to a cooperative by the AU housing arm.

Shelter Afrique said the loan to the medical professionals’ co-operative was informed by the sacco being its regular borrower.

Eventually grown

“Our relationship with Kenya Medical Association dates back to 2000 when we first advanced a facility of $1.5m. This has eventually grown and the signing of Sh740 million is in itself a milestone for Shelter Afrique, being the first largest loan facility the organisation has advanced to a cooperative society,” said Shelter Afrique acting chief executive Yekini Olayanju.

KMA chairman Hezra Opere said the loan, priced at below market rate, will save members money.

“The favourable terms of the loan have ensured that our members will get these units at a lower cost,” said Dr Opere.

Large-scale projects

KMA did not disclose how much the houses will cost. Shelter Afrique has been working with co-operatives which are able to provide houses for the middle and low end of the market.

The lender previously said it was targeting co-operatives which can provide housing units with an entry point of Sh1 million.

Shelter Afrique recently received a Sh442 million grant from the French Development Agency (AFD) and said interest on loans to end-users from the facility would be capped at 13 per cent.

Stima Sacco and Urithi Housing Co-operative Society are some of the other societies developing large-scale housing projects for their members.

Stima Sacco is putting up 1,500 units worth Sh4 billion in Kasarani, Nairobi County, while Urithi Housing Co-operative Society is putting up a Sh1 billion housing project in Kilimambogo, Machakos County, which will see the construction of some 600 houses.