More than 1.6 billion people worldwide live in substandard housing, without access to traditional financial products to improve their living conditions. Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) are often the only source of loans for low-income households, however less than 2% of their funds are officially allocated to housing. In 2012, Habitat for Humanity launched the MicroBuild Fund with the aim of demonstrating the viability of housing-specific microfinance and its efficacy in tackling the vast global housing deficit. The $100 million USD 10-year fund provides investment capital and technical assistance to MFI partners to help them create or refine housing-specific loan products for their low-income clients.
The fund has so far dispersed $151.6 million USD to 59 institutions in 33 countries, directly benefitting 1,048,720 people – 80% of whom are women – more than double MicroBuild’s initial target figure. The project has also triggered growth in housing microfinance by unlocking more than $582.9 million USD in additional capital by investee institutions, positively impacting an additional 3.5 million people.
MicroBuild began winding down in July 2019, however a follow-on fund with a stronger climate agenda will build on the project’s successes, by channeling more funds into the sector and exploring new partnerships across the affordable housing value chain beyond financial institutions.
