Housing Support Services for Housing Microfinance Lending in East and Southern Africa: A Case Study of Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU) & Uganda Agency for Development Limited (UGAFODE)

This case study of Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU) and Uganda Agency for Development Limited (UGAFODE) examines the provision of housing support products and services for housing microfinance in East and Southern Africa. It aims to understand the extent to which housing support services form part of the housing microfinance process, and whether these services can be enhanced and if so, how.

The study demonstrates that it is not always necessary to provide housing support products and services to ensure that housing microfinance results in home improvements. Key lessons from the study include:

• Two-tier interest rate system is effective in deterring clients from diverting loans;
• Well established and managed partnerships enhance organizational impact;
• Adopting MFI best practices helps to attract more capital to finance lending activities;
• Client-centric process is appropriate and successful;
• Land registration is a valuable client service;
• Client education can improve the quality of loan applications and repayments rates;
• Achieving significant impact, learning from experience, and adaptation of the social pressure utilized in group lending are good practices that other NGOs could follow.