Shelter Afrique Development Bank and Vista Group Holding Sign MoU to Scale Affordable Housing Finance in West Africa

Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) and Vista Group Holding SA (VGH SA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly expand affordable housing finance in West Africa. This partnership, formed at the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings, aims to channel more long-term capital towards affordable housing across the region.

Under the MoU, the two organizations will collaborate on housing finance, risk sharing, and technical assistance. ShafDB's long-term capital and housing expertise will be combined with Vista's extensive banking network to support developers and increase access to affordable homes. Thierno-Habib Hann, ShafDB's Managing Director, explained that the partnership "connects Shelter Afrique Development Bank's long-term capital with a banking network that spans across Africa.

Together, we can finance more developers, put more households in homes, and create jobs across the housing value chain in every market we serve."

Yao Kouassi, Group Managing Director of VGH SA, added that this partnership "strengthens our ability to bring long-term, affordable housing finance to the communities we serve across our markets. We look forward to turning this shared ambition into homes."

This collaboration aligns with ShafDB's mission to provide finance, advisory, and research solutions to the housing crisis through public and private partnerships. It also supports VGH SA's expansion into the affordable housing market. ShafDB is a pan-African multilateral development bank focusing on sustainable housing, urban development, and related infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Vista Group Holding is a financial services holding company aiming to build a pan-African financial institution that contributes to economic growth and financial inclusion across Africa. The partnership leverages Vista's strategic alliances with global financial institutions to drive growth, increase profitability, reduce operating costs, and mitigate risk.