What's new

Early 2013, we concluded a partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD). The objective: allowing low income families to fund the construction, extension or renovation of their home, by supporting the development of microfinance for housing in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean Basin.

Following our collaboration with the American organization Global Communities (formerly CHF), this agreement with the AFD allows us carrying on the deployment of our Housing Microfinance Program in the African continent. Launched in June 2012, it feeds one of our 2020 Sustainability Ambitions: facilitating the access to affordable and sustainable housing for 2 million people by 2020.

This new partnership is also part of our ambition to provide innovative solutions contributing to create more housing in cities, by addressing the housing for all concern, and affordable housing.

The AFD brings its experience of over 70 years in the financing and assistance of the projects aiming at sustainably improving populations' life conditions, mainly in Africa. Through its local agencies, it will implement financing systems as well as a financial technical assistance, for microfinance institutions (IMF) chosen in consultation with Lafarge.

On its side, Lafarge offers its expertise in materials and affordable housing. We will assist the borrowers during the various stages of their construction project, thanks to trained and supervised advisors who offer a customized support, such as the visit of an architect, or the execution of plans.

The operational objective is to assist two or three IMF partners along the duration of the partnership. In order to ensure this initiative is maintained over time, Lafarge will implement projects relying on sustainable business models. We started a first collaboration in Nigeria!