Joe de Swardt, Head of Enterprise Programmes and Partnerships at Homeless International, made a presentation to DW’s staff on the CLIFF Fund’s strategy of investing in housing for the poor. He has been in Angola for the week helping in the creation of DW’s new social housing enterprise HabiTerra. HabiTerra is receiving financing in the form of a loan from CLIFF to pilot incremental services and housing in Huambo Province. The HabiTerra model is a partnership between KixiCredito offering small sequential loans to fund incremental housing in stages, and HabiTec providing low cost modular doors and windows and other building materials.
He demonstrated how Homeless International is working in nine countries offering CLIFF financing to “third sector organisations” such as cooperatives and micro-finance organisations to provide innovative housing solutions to the poor who would normally be unable to attract the resources they need to improve their families’ living conditions. The presentation provoked a lively debate on housing finance between those who attended from DW and partner organisations.