Centre for Affordable Housing Finance

What Centre for Affordable Housing Finance does

CAHF (Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa) is an independent, donor-funded think tank established in May 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa, originally as a division of FinMark Trust. The organization pursues the mission of making Africa's housing finance markets function by producing and distributing research, data, and policy tools covering all 54 African countries. Its flagship product is the Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook, now in its 16th edition, supplemented by the CAHF Library, the Open Access Initiative, country and city-level dashboards (Nigeria, Nairobi Metropolitan Area), the Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET), a free MOOC, and the Tenure Support Centre, an action-research project addressing property titling in South Africa. CAHF also serves as the permanent Secretariat of the African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF), a 67-member organization spanning 23 countries.

CAHF operates satellite offices in Nairobi (Kenya) and Dakar (Senegal), supporting dedicated Kenya and Francophone Africa programmes. The core team is small—approximately 7 permanent staff plus associates and interns, led by founder and Executive Director Kecia Rust. The organization employs a community-led, event-driven go-to-market model centered on the annual yearbook, the AUHF Annual Conference, regional Francophone conferences, webinars (AUHF Academy), and a MOOC, with all intellectual products distributed freely via housingfinanceafrica.org under a CC BY 4.0 license.

The business model is 100% grant-funded, with no commercial revenue. CAHF depends on a diversified base of development partners and DFIs including Agence Française de Développement (AFD, core funder since 2016), FSDAfrica (core funder since founding, supported by UKaid), FSD Kenya, UN Habitat, the MasterCard Foundation, Reall, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cities Alliance, and others. The organization provides market intelligence and policy research to four primary stakeholder groups: African governments and policymakers, private-sector developers and lenders, housing advocates and practitioners, and development partners and funders.

Name

Centre for Affordable Housing Finance

Legal name

Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa

Website

https://housingfinanceafrica.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAHF is a Johannesburg-based, donor-funded think tank founded in 2014 that produces research, data, and policy tools on affordable housing finance across all 54 African countries, serving governments, developers, lenders, and development partners via its annual yearbook and open-access library.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Finance Research

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs (925110)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Mortgage Insurance & Government Credit Guarantee Programs (FSALAKAD)

Keywords

• Affordable housing research
• Housing finance data
• Market intelligence Africa
• Policy research services
• Think tank consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Funding / Grants: CAHF relies entirely on donor funds to pursue its mission. The organization receives funding from core funders who support the overall mission, as well as programme and project funders who focus on specific areas of CAHF's work. Funding supports activities across Francophone Africa, Kenya operations, Open Access Initiative, and various research projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAHF is an independent think tank that produces research, data dashboards, country profiles, and knowledge products on affordable housing finance across all 54 African countries. Its flagship annual publication is the Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook (16th edition), complemented by the CAHF Library of reports and case studies, interactive country-level dashboards, the Open Access Initiative for affordable housing delivery data, and educational offerings including a MOOC and AUHF Academy webinars.

Product overview

CAHF is an independent think tank offering a portfolio of research products and tools focused on affordable housing finance in Africa. The core offering is the annual Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook (now in its 16th edition), supported by the CAHF Library containing reports, dashboards, case studies, and webinars. Key analytical tools include the Nigeria Housing Data Dashboard and Nairobi Metropolitan Area Dashboard. CAHF also operates the Open Access Initiative for data collection, the Tenure Support Centre for property titling assistance, and the Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET). The organization delivers educational content through the AUHF Academy and a free MOOC on housing markets in African cities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook CAHF's flagship annual publication providing comprehensive profiles of affordable housing across all 54 African countries, with data on house prices, construction costs, and income. The most widely referenced resource on housing finance across the continent, now in its 16th edition.
• CAHF Library Digital repository containing Yearbooks, Reports, Case Studies, Presentations, Policies, Dashboards, Past Webinars, Yearbook Profiles, and Discussions on affordable housing in Africa.
• Nigeria Housing Data Dashboard Interactive dashboard developed through partnership with the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, providing publicly available housing data for Nigeria.
• Housing Developments in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Dashboard Dashboard showing development activity in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, tracking affordable housing delivery data through the Open Access Initiative.
• Open Access Initiative Collaborative initiative with partners including Reall, FSDKenya, FSDA, AFD to collect and analyze data on affordable housing delivery costs, producing knowledge products for market development.
• Making Housing Markets Work in African Cities MOOC Free massive open online course (MOOC) helping participants understand the role and opportunity of finance in making housing markets work in African cities.
• AUHF & CAHF Joint Conference Annual conference bringing together governments, private sector, and DFIs to discuss affordable housing investment structures. Second Francophone conference scheduled for Cotonou, Benin in 2026.
• Tenure Support Centre (TSC) Action-research project helping clients overcome titling issues including securing primary transfer on properties, formalizing informal transactions, and resolving transactional complexities such as transferring properties from deceased estates.
• Housing Finance Information Network (HOFINET) Network that consolidates and makes widely available African housing finance information and knowledge through surveys and data collection.
• CAHF Francophone Programme Programme expanding CAHF's work in Francophone Africa, supported by French Development Agency (AFD) and UN Habitat, with a satellite office in Dakar.
• AUHF Academy Educational platform offering webinar series on housing finance topics including Housing Microfinance (HMF) for African practitioners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook - 16th edition published, covering all 54 African countries with over 50 contributing authors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAHF serves as the Secretariat of the AUHF, which is a primary partner providing a monthly retainer fee. It is a symbiotic relationship: while CAHF is the Secretariat, the AUHF also consumes the work that CAHF does, broadening its impact especially among private sector players. AUHF has 67 members from 23 countries.
• UN HabitatmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAHF entered into an Agreement of Cooperation with UN Habitat to support its work in the Francophone region. This support was first realized in the Abidjan Conference hosted by CAHF and AUHF in January 2025, and for engagement with the Centre for Excellence in Housing. This allowed CAHF to establish a satellite office in Dakar.
• Tenure Support Centre (TSC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Tenure Support Centre was started in July 2018 as an action-research project by CAHF and 71point Consulting. TSC helps clients overcome titling issues including securing primary transfer on properties, formalizing informal transactions, and resolving transactional complexities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Reall: Reall is a UK-based affordable housing investor and innovator operating across Africa and Asia. Reall awarded CAHF a contract in 2019 to develop Market Shaping Indicators, creating an ongoing data partnership. As a funder and partner investing in affordable housing delivery, Reall is a directly comparable emerging player in the African affordable housing ecosystem.
• 71point4: 71point4 is a South African affordable housing specialist consulting firm that co-founded the Tenure Support Centre with CAHF in 2018. As a directly collaborating partner on tenure and titling work, 71point4 represents an emerging specialized player in the affordable housing research and advisory space where CAHF operates.

Broad incumbents

• UN-Habitat: UN-Habitat is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. CAHF has an active Agreement of Cooperation with UN-Habitat for Francophone Africa work and jointly hosted the 2025 Abidjan Conference. UN-Habitat is the broader incumbent in global housing and urban policy with overlapping mandates and significantly larger scale.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC) Affordable Housing: The IFC's Affordable Housing Advisory team provides investment and advisory services to scale affordable housing markets in emerging economies, including across Africa. As a multilateral development institution with research, investment, and convening functions, the IFC operates as a broader incumbent in the same African affordable housing finance space where CAHF conducts research.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Habitat for Humanity is a global non-profit housing organization working in over 70 countries, including extensive programs across Africa. As a broader incumbent focused on affordable housing delivery and policy advocacy, Habitat operates at a much larger scale than CAHF but shares the mission of improving housing access for low-income households.

Direct peers

• FinMark Trust: FinMark Trust is a South African non-profit think tank focused on promoting financial inclusion and financial sector development. CAHF was originally established as a division of FinMark Trust in 2014, making it the most direct peer — both organizations share mission alignment, donor-funded research models, and a focus on inclusive finance markets in Africa.
• FSD Africa (Financial Sector Deepening Africa): FSD Africa is a UKaid-funded organization that promotes financial sector development across sub-Saharan Africa. As CAHF's founding funder since 2014 and a continuing programmatic partner, FSD Africa is a direct peer in mission, structure, and donor-funded model — both operate as Africa-wide financial sector research and development platforms.
• Shelter Afrique: Shelter Afrique is a pan-African housing finance and development institution owned by African governments and DFIs, providing mortgage finance and housing development capital across the continent. As a peer African housing finance institution, Shelter Afrique operates in the same ecosystem CAHF researches and convenes (e.g., as AUHF members), making it a directly comparable institutional counterpart.
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a US-based think tank producing research on land policy, urbanization, and housing. CAHF currently partners with the Lincoln Institute on a Nairobi inner-city land economics project, and both organizations share a research-driven approach to housing and land policy with similar academic-policy-practitioner engagement models.

Regional players

• FSD Kenya: FSD Kenya is a Nairobi-based financial sector deepening trust that has funded CAHF's Kenya Programme since 2020. As a regional peer with a similar donor-funded research model and overlapping inclusive finance focus, FSD Kenya represents comparable financial inclusion/housing finance intelligence work in the Kenyan market where CAHF operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@centreforaffordablehousing4669
• Facebookfacebook.com/HousingFinanceAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-affordable-housing-finance-in-africa
• Xx.com/cahf_africa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centre for Affordable Housing Finance