CBZ secures US$15 million loan for housing development

SHELTER Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) has extended a US$15 million credit facility to CBZ Bank for housing development and mortgage origination.

At the signing, ShafDB’s group chief business officer, Gibson Mapfidza, said:

“Today we are very happy that this line of credit that we are advancing to CBZ Bank has been done before. We trust the relationship, and we are very confident that CBZ Bank going forward will be able to deliver more. So the US$15 million we are delivering today has a number that says these are the number of houses because our thrust is to solve the US$52 million housing deficit across Africa and 1,1 million housing deficit in Zimbabwe.”

ShafDB’s group chief business officer, Gibson Mapfidza

This builds on a partnership that began in 2012 and has seen CBZ Bank secure US$15,8 million in funding from ShafDB for low-cost housing and mortgage financing.

CBZ Holdings group chief executive officer Lawrence Nyazema commented:

“I see ourselves partnering for the next 100 or 200 years and our goal is basically to provide affordable housing solutions for our people. Zimbabwe is one of the few countries where you are offered a mortgage facility for two years that has to stop; a mortgage facility should be for 20 years or 30 years as long as you are still generating income to pay off that facility. So, the aim is for us to make affordable housing units and affordable financing.”

National Housing and Social Amenities permanent secretary, Theodius Chinyanga, added:

“Our concern mainly is that this funding is applied to the new houses we have. We have been changing the same jacket throughout; we sold these houses five times and still the same house. It does not solve the problem that the government is facing. We are also appealing to banks to have a change of mindset. I know that in terms of the Zimbabwean mindset, everyone wants to have a small piece of land, but our land is very finite. We are now eating into agricultural land.”

This partnership aims to address Zimbabwe’s growing housing market needs and contribute to urban development.