New Pact to Deliver Affordable, Sustainable Housing in Kenya
International Housing Solutions (IHS), a private equity fund manager investing in green affordable housing across Sub-Saharan Africa, has, through its Kenya Green Housing Fund, signed an agreement with leading real estate developer Mi Vida Homes that will result in the timely delivery of green, affordable, and quality rental housing units.
Under the agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals, IHS Kenya Fund will acquire two hundred environmentally friendly residential units within the developed dubbed ‘237 Garden City’ situated in the Garden City mixed-use masterplan along the Thika Road Superhighway.
IHS Kenya Managing Director-Capital and Investor Relations, Peter Mayavi said that the purchase agreement will guarantee Mi Vida Homes a ready market for units in its Garden City affordable housing project.
This guarantee, in effect, will boost the confidence of both the developers and other stakeholders in delivering timely, environmentally friendly, and high-quality housing units.
“IHS’s agreement with Mi Vida Homes is timely because Kenya has a pressing need for housing that is not only affordable but offers the quality that ensures users get a dignified living. A key way of ensuring this goal is removing the market risk for developer partners because this will now catalyze the development of large-scale projects such as 237.”
The units in the 237 development are a mix of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.
Mi Vida Homes CEO Samuel Kariuki said that the purchase agreement, at a fixed price, has enabled the developer to mitigate market risk, which is a challenge to scaling for the wider housing market.
‘Through this partnership with IHS, Mi Vida Homes has a guaranteed market for the apartments we are building. Our main goal is to guarantee timely delivery and sustainability at every stage of the project, including planning, building, and project management,” commented Mr. Kariuki.
IHS is additionally partnering with other financial institutions, development financiers, investors, land owners, and developers to increase the stock of quality, affordable green housing in the Kenyan market.
Mr. Mayavi added that as part of their mission, IHS intends to build sustainable city communities where residents will live close to public transportation, create jobs through their developments, and work with non-profits to solve inequality in the real estate industry.
Within the next seven years, IHS intends to provide up to 4,000 affordably priced apartments for both sale and rental.
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