Share the page
CRRH-UEMOA Issues Social Bond Dedicated to Affordable Housing, with Proparco as Anchor Investor
Published on
Proparco is supporting the Caisse Régionale de Refinancement Hypothécaire de l’UEMOA (CRRH-UEMOA) as an anchor investor for the issuance of a 60 billion XOF social bond on the regional stock exchange of the west african economic and monetary union (Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières de l’UEMOA, BRVM) based in Abidjan. This financing is entirely dedicated to the acquisition of affordable housing.
The CEO of CRRH-UEMOA, Yedau Ogoundele, successfully launched the first social bond issuance on May 5, 2025, at the BRVM in Abidjan.
Fully dedicated to affordable housing, this social bond, arranged by the asset management company Impaxis Securities, will finance the acquisition of homes by low-income households in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine, UEMOA) region. Partly owned by the West African Development Bank (Banque Ouest Africaine de Developpement, BOAD), CRRH-UEMOA thus contributes to addressing strong demand amid a regional housing deficit, where costs remain high and largely unaffordable. This is despite many countries announcing affordable housing construction programs over the past decade in at least six of the eight countries in the zone.
The Center for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) highlights that housing remains largely unaffordable across the sub-region, with significant disparities between countries: 40% of Senegalese households can afford housing, compared to only 21% in Côte d’Ivoire, 3% in Benin and Mali, and even fewer in Niger.
To encourage local private investors to subscribe to this bond issuance and thus fully play its catalytic role, Proparco committed alongside CRRH-UEMOA as an anchor investor, subscribing to 7.5 billion XOF (approximately €11.5 million). This early commitment sent a strong signal to issuers and investors in the UEMOA region, where Proparco has been a long-standing engaged partner.
“This first social bond issuance in the UEMOA region, specifically dedicated to affordable housing, fully aligns with CRRH-UEMOA’s mission: to promote and facilitate access to affordable housing for West African households. The early support from our partner Proparco was crucial in generating interest among regional investors, motivated by the ambition for significant social impact,” said Yedau Ogoundele, CEO of CRRH-UEMOA.
“Proparco is very enthusiastic to support CRRH-UEMOA as anchor investor in this operation in favor of affordable housing in West Africa. Mobilizing private finance, including for economic and social inclusion, is a key priority of our strategy in Africa,” stated Françoise Lombard, CEO of Proparco.
The expected impacts of this project include access to the essential service of housing, with nearly 2,000 homes financed, as well as the creation of 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.