Nigeria, West Africa To Benefit From $274m Housing Finance

Nigeria is set to benefit from a $274 million long-term financing announced by the United States’ Prosper Africa initiative targeted at helping to build West Africa’s rapidly growing housing sector.
The long-term financing is in partnership with Bank of America Securities Inc, Brean Capital, LLC, The Bank of New York Mellon, Togo’s Caisse Régionale de Refinancement Hypothécaire (CRRH), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
The $274 million financing is expected to open new opportunities for U.S. investment in Africa’s emerging markets and provides an avenue for West Africans to gain greater access to homeownership. MiDA Advisors served as the originator and lead transaction advisor on this landmark transaction.
The deal represents an innovative approach to mobilise transparent, market-oriented financing and is expected to help about 6,000 households gain access to home-ownership.
As part of Prosper Africa’s whole-of-government approach, USAID funded MiDA Advisors and CrossBoundary to provide advisory services that prepared CRRH for a global bond issuance while DFC provided a credit guarantee, allowing investors to access an untapped market opportunity while meeting their risk profiles.
Through this transaction, for the first time, CRRH accessed cheaper, longer-term capital with a 17-year $217 million equivalent Eurobond that was issued via a U.S. trust alongside a local currency bond equivalent to $57 million for a total raise of $274 million from international and local institutional investors.
Senior Investment Advisor with Prosper Africa, Cameron Khosrowshahi, noted that the “partnership with leading U.S. and African financial institutions signals increased U.S. investor interest in investing in African markets to meet the enormous demand for affordable housing in West Africa. Our collaboration is a blended finance transaction that will catalyse investment at scale and create generational wealth through homeownership for thousands of people across West Africa.”
Also, DFC vice president for the Office of Development Credit, Jim Polan, said: “DFC partners with the private sector to make impactful investments around the world, including in West Africa where affordable housing is a critical need. The agency is pleased to work with such a diverse group of investors, including colleagues from the U.S. Government on this important issue that will help provide affordable housing and bolster stability for thousands in the region.”