Twize in Mauritania

In December 2020, the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF), UrbaMonde and UrbaSEN signed a partnership agreement to undertake a scoping exercise to explore experiences of citizen financing mechanisms for affordable housing delivery.

This short study – available in French and English – documents and disseminates 10 experiences, programs and projects of affordable housing production in Africa. Using bibliographic research and in-depth interviews, this work made it possible to analyze the capacity of projects and partners to be part of the public and private funding chain, and to mobilize the so-called “citizen finance” .

This week’s focus is on the Twize in Mauritania. From 1998 to 2008, the Mauritanian state entrusted GRET with the implementation of a project to fight poverty through access to housing in the outlying districts of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou: Twize. GRET has experimented with a mechanism for financing and building housing “modules” intended for low-income families. The Beït el-Mal microfinance structure is still active.

To find out more about the program in English or French, follow the links below.