Prize winning Reall article published in World Bank journal

Prize winning Reall article published in World Bank journal

Reall is pleased to publish a new research article in the highly respected journal Housing Finance International (HFI). This is the quarterly journal of the World Bank-affiliated International Union for Housing Finance.

Dr Andrew Jones introduces the article

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Read Partnership and financial innovation: Reall and unlocking affordable housing markets in urban Africa and Asia (PDF, 300KB, 11 pages), authored by Dr Andrew Jones, Dr Lisa Stead, and Lucy Livesley.

The article is a prize-winning submission to the World Bank’s 9th Global Affordable Housing Conference, scheduled for May 2021 in Washington, D.C.

It explores the pressing need for financial innovation and new types of collaboration in urban Africa and Asia through case studies of three Reall partners:

  • Casa Real, Mozambique – a social enterprise developing affordable housing in Beira. Casa Real harnessed relationships with the Beira Municipality to access land and develop an innovative mortgage product with a national bank
  • Ansaar Management Company/AMC, Pakistan – a social enterprise developing affordable housing and sustainable communities. AMC negotiated a first of its kind agreement with a national bank for its customers on low incomes
  • Syntellect, India Syntellect, an IT company based in Mumbai, is rolling-out a cutting-edge software platform called RightProfile with Reall’s support. RightProfile assesses the mortgage lending potential of people in informal employment, reducing risk for lenders and opening up a previously excluded client segment

All three case studies demonstrate that commercial banks can be influenced to move downmarket and recognise the commercial viability of lending to people living on low incomes.

It is through Reall’s approach of establishing committed partnerships and exploring innovative financial products that systemic barriers to affordable housing will be resolved. This is a unique opportunity to drive change, mobilise private investment, and catalyse markets to unlock access to affordable housing assets for millions of people living on low incomes.

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