Dashboard: Availability of Housing Finance Data in Africa
The limited availability of housing finance data in many African countries negatively impacts on the sector and undermines investment in affordable housing. To address these data challenges, as part of our Housing Finance Data Agenda for Africa, we have constructed a dashboard to paint a picture of the availability of housing finance data across the continent. This dashboard showcases the availability of housing finance data in each country, and summarises the country-specific challenges around the collection and availability of housing finance data.
As part of our Data Agenda programme, we developed a standard set of Headline Indicators which are intended to paint a high-level picture of the housing and housing finance sector in each country. These Headline Indicators were designed to speak to each of the eight components in the housing construction value chain e.g. land, bulk infrastructure, as shown below. In total, the 79 Headline Indicators contain a total of 202 unique data points.
We used our 2019 Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook process to collect this data for each country, through a team of primarily in-country consultants. The data collection was done in a two phases, the first through a survey that formed part of the Yearbook data collection process, and secondly through desktop research and automated downloads from international data sources such as the World Bank. Please note that this dashboard only reflects the data we were able to find through this process–where gaps are reflected, it may be that the data exists but we couldn’t find it. During 2020, CAHF will be undertaking deep-dive reports on the housing finance data ecosystem in eight countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco) which will give us a fuller picture of the availability of data against these headline indicators. You are also invited to send us your comments and suggestions on the headline indicators and this dashboard: Alison Tshangana alison@housingfinanceafrica.org
How to use the dashboard:
On the left-hand side of the dashboard: You can either select ‘All’ or a you can select a specific component in the housing construction value chain e.g. ‘Title/tenure’. The map will then display how many of the data points related to that particular value chain component we were able to collect for each country. The darker colours indicate greater availability of data. The percentage collection rate of the possible 202 data points of the Headline indicators is displayed in the center for the selected country.
On the right-hand side of the dashboard: When you select a country at the top right-hand side, a text box appears with information on the availability of data and the collection challenges that exist in that country. On clicking on the circle for a particular component of the value chain (e.g. Sales & transfer), you will be redirected to a separate page which unpacks the data for that component. That page will display the data points related to that component, including: the definitions for the data points, a URL of the source or potential data source, the year of the data point, and the actual value collected where data was available. For more information on the Headline Indicators displayed in this dashboard (including the underlying framework for their selection, and the associated metadata), click here.
Suggested citation: Centre for Affordable Housing Finance (2020). Dashboard: Availability of Housing Finance Data in Africa. https://housingfinanceafrica.org/documents/availability-of-housing-finance-data-dashboard