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Housing Series: The Critical Shift Toward Asset Building
For over two decades, the partnership between the Citi Foundation and Habitat for Humanity International relied heavily on a "one house, one family," volunteer house-building model. But a shift to a strategy that increases the supply of financial products and services that accelerate financial inclusion is urgently needed.
- Categories
- Finance, Uncategorized
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Housing Series: The Case for Bundling Housing Finance With Housing Support Services
Studies suggest that between 20 to 30 percent of microfinance institution (MFI) clients use portions of their small business start-up or production loans for housing improvements. While MFIs see this as "leakage" for non-productive activities, "productive housing" should be viewed as both a livelihood strategy as well as asset creation.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing, microfinance
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Housing Series: The Case for Housing Support Services
Access to finance and secure tenure has been shown to be the most effective catalysts for self-help incremental housing improvements. But while they are essential, even together, they are not sufficient to improve the living conditions for many of the world’s low-income populations.
- Categories
- Finance
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The Beauty of Bricks and Mortar: Low-cost Housing as a Foundation for Impact
At Acumen Fund, we feel it is high time for the dynamic to change - for the social enterprise sector to recognize the need to catalyze and support affordable housing across emerging markets. But we know there are forces working against us that cause housing to be treated like the forgotten stepchild of the social enterprise sector.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- housing, impact investing
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Housing Series: Establishing Quality Standards for Affordable Housing
Who enforces building standards? If customers are sold a home with sub-standard construction or materials - or their neighbor builds a dangerously unstable structure - what recourse do BoP citizens have? The certification prices we are developing is not a one-time "stamp of approval." Rather, it starts with pre-building and lasts over time.
- Categories
- Investing
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Housing Series: Sustainable Communities Generating Sustainable Habitats
We began Echale a Tu Casa over 25 years ago as a nonprofit to help low-income Mexican families improve home safety, health and hygiene conditions. Realizing that philanthropy would not permit us to have much of an impact on these living conditions, we created a social enterprise built on an integrated system of savings, credit and subsidies.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care, WASH
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Housing Series: Shelter After Disaster – Temporary Aid Or Pathway to a Better Future?
Over the past years the global humanitarian community has been working to develop solutions that offer disaster and conflict-affected families a more durable shelter than the tents traditionally provided. "Transitional shelter, " guides families on a pathway to durable shelter solutions, a process to choose from multiple options for their future.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- housing
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Housing Series: The Power of Collecting Accurate Data
Many companies applying market surveys for middle/upper income consumers to the BoP market have failed. We employed slum residents and community workers to get honest answers, and to use cell phones and tablets to gather and send data for analysis. The result: specific guidance for architects and developers on target markets and ideal customers.
- Categories
- Technology
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