Africa’s $1trn Housing gap puts Agenda 2063 at risk

ALGIERS, Algeria: Africa’s severe housing deficit, estimated at more than 52 million units, is emerging as one of the continent’s biggest obstacles to achieving its ambitious Agenda 2063 development blueprint, financial leaders warned Monday at the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2025).

Shelter Afrique Managing Director Thierno-Habiv Hann said housing is a critical driver of inclusive growth, yet Africa is far behind in meeting its targets. “Agenda 2063 assumed a 7 percent annual GDP growth rate across Africa. Today, we are averaging only 3 percent. To catch up, growth must accelerate to 10 percent — and addressing housing is central to that push,” Hann told delegates.

He said the cost of meeting the continent’s housing needs is staggering. “At a minimum cost of 25,000 US dollars per affordable low-cost unit, financing 52 million homes amounts to more than 1 trillion US dollars. That figure alone is nearly the size of all African multilateral finance institutions’ combined balance sheets,” Hann said.

Shelter Afrique has set a goal of building 200,000 housing units by 2030. But Hann acknowledged the scale of demand dwarfs current commitments. The World Bank estimates the deficit is even higher, at 95 million homes.

“Housing is not just about shelter — it shapes the future of cities, infrastructure, and sustainable growth. African cities are engines of development, but if they expand without planned housing, the growth will be uneven and costly,” Hann said.

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To close the gap, Shelter Afrique is piloting new models of collaboration with other multilateral lenders. Hann cited a joint product, known as Contoo, where Shelter Afrique finances project construction and Afreximbank provides refinancing once projects are operational. “We need to put resources together, even issuing IPOs, to scale up housing finance,” he said.

Panelists agreed that one institution cannot meet Africa’s housing challenge alone. Dr. Tshepelayi Kabata of BADEA said mobilizing private sector capital is essential. “We are using debt-to-equity approaches to recapitalize institutions like Shelter Afrique and development insurers. This is the only way to derisk housing projects and attract large-scale financing,” he said.

Experts said solving Africa’s housing crisis could also unleash broader economic benefits, from job creation to industrial growth in construction materials. But without urgent action, the deficit threatens to deepen social inequality and slow the continent’s progress toward Agenda 2063 goals.

“The numbers are daunting,” Hann said. “But housing is the sector that can transform African economies if we scale up — and we cannot afford to wait.”