The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) hosted stakeholders in affordable housing at the Kenya Affordable Housing Conference (KAHC) from 23rd to 25th November 2022 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi. The objective of the conference is to enhance awareness on the Affordable Housing Program and investment opportunities in the sector and was convened in partnership with the National Treasury and Economic Planning and the World Bank Group.
The conference, themed Unleashing Affordable Housing Potential to Drive Economic Growth brought together housing stakeholders to tackle issues and discuss practical solutions to promote sustainable affordable housing as a driver of economic growth in Kenya. The 2022 conference came almost one year since KMRC launched the inaugural conference, which registered massive success and hosted approximately 200 delegates, drawn from multiple sectors across the value chain.
Said KMRC CEO Johnstone Oltetia, “the most practical way to deliver housing solutions is to embed sustainability and inclusivity in the process. This can only be achieved through partnerships and collaboration with all stakeholders including national and county governments, private sector, housing cooperatives, landowners, financiers, among other key value chain actors. This conference presents the perfect platform for the stakeholders to collaboratively tackle issues in the sector and practically house wananchi.”
The Kenya Affordable Housing Conference 2022 targeted sector regulators, investors – pension funds, insurance companies, SACCOs, commercial banks, consumers, development partners, Government MDAs and County Governments. Others are financiers, consultancy firms, policy makers, research institutions and professional associations in the built environment.
The conference came a little less than two months since President William Rutto detailed the Government’s plan to deliver 250,000 affordable housing units annually. The President, while launching housing units in Ongata Rongai said that his administration is keen on collaborating with the private sector and county governments on developing affordable houses.
Housing is one of the basic human needs as it is a human right under Article 43 (1b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010; thus, a mandate of the Government to ensure this right is progressively realized. Housing is also recognized as one of the critical sectors under the social pillar of the Vision 2030. Underpinned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities, where the focus is on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The inadequate affordable and decent housing in Kenya has been attributed to a number of challenges including high interest rates; high property prices, low households income, high incidental costs (stamp duty, legal fees, valuation fees etc), difficulties in property registration high construction and land costs; and occasional delays in issuing building approvals among others.