African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved US$60 million financing for Homes Loan Assistance Programme managed by the Family Homes Funds Limited (FHFL), officials of the Funds have revealed.
Expectation, according to the officials, is that the loan assistance will reduce the mortgage loan repayment burden on eligible beneficiaries by 50 percent.
In their estimation, at least 3,750 new Help to Own (HTO) mortgages will be supported through this intervention by the FHFL partnership with the AfDB, directly resulting in the creation of approximately 9,375 direct jobs and impacting at least 18,750 beneficiaries.
This financing, the officials disclosed, has the support of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and it is expected to support the federal government’s efforts at promoting access to affordable housing finance for low-income families through the FHF.
Aisha Omar, Director, International Economics Relations at the federal ministry of finance, who led the negotiation for the facility on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, explained that the facility was FHFL’s Help-to-Own (HTO) Fund scheme.
Omar explained further that HTO Fund, as a home loans assistance programme, targets Nigerians on low and middle income, offering them a low-cost, deferred equity loan for up to 40 percent of the cost of their homes.
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Reacting to the loan approval by the AfDB Board, Femi Adewole, the managing director of Family Homes Funds, commended the support this initiative received from the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed,and the AfDB management.
“It has been 18 months of tough and intensive engagement. However, we now have a big opportunity to execute a programme that will increase the volume and tenor of mortgage loans available in the market, deepen our housing finance system, improve access to decent housing and homeownership for people on modest incomes; significantly improve their quality of life,” Adewole said.
He disclosed that FHFL was currently working with state governments and private developers across the country to facilitate the construction of affordable homes for people on a modest income, who would off-take the homes with financial assistance through the HTO programme.
The Fund has now completed 5,408 homes across eight states, with 9,148 under construction and another 13,543 commencing construction works before December 2021.
FHFL is also implementing federal government’s National Social Housing Programme (NSHP) that will provide up to 300,000 homes and lead to the creation of 1.5 million jobs across the country.
FHFL was set up as a social housing initiative promoted by the federal government as part of its social intervention programme.
It is a limited liability company with initial shareholding by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
The Fund aims to invest up to N1.3trn in promoting the development of 500,000 homes for people on a low income. It also aims to create up to 1,500,000 jobs in the process.
AFDB, on its part, is a multilateral development finance institution providing finance to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries.
Its mission is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent.
