ADHI-Rwanda is looking to strengthen a partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC) to secure finance for constructing more green-certified affordable homes since the first-phase homes have already been occupied at a good rate.

ADHI Rwanda is an innovative construction company that builds high-quality and affordable buildings through the implementation of innovative light steel frame and lightweight concrete construction technologies.

It has constructed 257 homes since 2022, in Nyarugenge District in the City of Kigali,

with 163 of the homes being affordable and 70 per cent are already sold. Others are luxury units of which 30 per cent have been sold.

The investor seeks to deliver 2,000 homes in phase two and is targeting to construct 40,000 green homes over the next 13 years in Rwanda.

The houses known under the brand Bwiza Riverside Estate Homes are constructed using EDGE Technology (Excellence in Design for greater efficiency) which aims to mainstream green buildings and help fight climate change. EDGE is a green building certification system focused on making buildings more resource-efficient.

An innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, EDGE empowers emerging markets to scale up resource-efficient buildings in a fast, easy, and affordable way.

The unique construction method used in building Bwiza Riverside Estate homes consists largely of a patented system of light steel frames combined with lightweight concrete and other innovative elements to create green-certified homes. The method results in 53 per cent on-site energy savings.

Hassan Adan Hassan, the Managing Director of ADHI-Rwanda, said they had a meeting with the IFC delegation on Thursday, February 8, who toured the completed houseS, and discussed enhancing partnership in increasing green-certified affordable homes.

"Currently we’ve sold almost 70 per cent of affordable homes. We are left with some units. Electricity is connected to the houses. Water and fiber optic are connected to the houses. The roads and street lights are done,” he said.

He said ADHI Rwanda is already in partnership with IFC which certified the houses as green development.

"Now we are trying to see how we can take this partnership to the next level in terms of raising finances with them so that we do not always rely on government intervention to invest in the projects. They could invest in infrastructure, they could invest in helping us to obtain a line of credit when it comes to buying construction materials so that investment has real impact,” he noted.

He said that ADHI has done a pilot project to show how the private developer can work with the government to deliver affordable homes.

"That is the proof of concept as a vehicle to expand using the same model to address shortage of affordable homes,” he said.

Diep Nguyen-van Houtte, the Senior Manager for Green Buildings and Climate Innovation in the Climate Business Department at IFC, said: "We certified ADHI homes as green by using EDGE, a green building certification programe of IFC. The project is using electricity and water responsibly as well as green materials. We are very happy about that.”

She said IFC is interested in supporting public-private partnership between the government and private developers to provide affordable houses to address the housing gap in Rwanda.

"The government is partnering with the private sector to provide lending, and other incentives such as infrastructure for the private sector to develop affordable homes. It is a very smart scheme. In terms of finance, we are exploring the Rwanda market. We are still in the appraisal stage,” she said.

According to Charles Haba, a real estate professional who is the Managing Director of Century Real Estate, Bwiza Riverside Estate is one of the most exciting projects certified as green.

Haba said: "This is because ADHI developed Bwiza Riverside homes with good design and pricing. It offers good value for money, through the whole community aspect, in terms of how roads are done, the green spaces, kids’ play areas, kindergarten, and shopping centre.

"Those are some of the reasons that made it stand out to be an extremely successful project in comparison to what the market has to offer. People have started to occupy the houses, now at almost 70 per cent which is really very good.”

Haba urged affordable housing developers to understand the market and what people are looking for.

"Everybody is becoming cautious of energy and water saving, green components, quality of life, and amenities which in combination arouses people to spend on green homes.”

Rwanda aims to create 150,000 new houses annually to meet the projected demand of 5.5 million houses by 2050. Through initiatives like the affordable housing programme, the government seeks to address low and middle-income communities’