A pan-African finance company, Shelter Afrique has invested over $16 million; about N315.2 billion in the nation’s equity market in the last three years.
Out of these equity investments, $13 million, about 256.1 billion was invested in credit lines for on-lending for mortgage while $3 million, about N591 million was invested in the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company, NMRC within the same period under review.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who gave the breakdown recently, said these investments were through interventions in the nation’s housing sector.
He also disclosed that between 2005 and 2010, the company had financed 23 initiatives totalling N10.435 billion ($52,175,000) and another N12.08 billion ($60,400,000) over the last three years on 10 interventions.
“Of these initiatives, 15 represented lending for construction of housing projects, out of which the largest was for $7m for 376 houses of different types; and 251 service plots, followed by 287 mixed housing units for a cooperative society; 55 housing units and 100 service plots and the least was for 16 maisonettes. This is the intervention on the supply side of housing to provide houses,” he noted.
According to him, the remaining eight interventions were for mortgage financing to building societies, credit line for individual mortgages and related financing on the demand side of housing to provide finance. The Minister said that out of the 10 interventions in the last three years, seven were for housing construction, including 287 units, 90 units, 15 floor commercial complex, 59 housing units, 300 housing units, 130 apartments and 44 housing units.
Noting that over the years the country had embarked on a series of housing initiatives but not one of them had been pursued with consistency or any measurable sustainability, he pointed out that the unsustainable efforts must change and give way to a sustainable and well thought out initiative led by the government and subsequently driven by the private sector.
