Affordable housing under Gira Iwawe
Another day, another awareness campaign, for people on low incomes, to own their own homes.
Gira Iwawe, or own your own home, has been launched, to support earlier campaigns, calling on people on low, and middle incomes, to take up the opportunity to own their own homes, at a reduced rate of interest.
The process is straightforward. If you are a first time home buyer, and the monthly earnings for your household not exceed Rwf 1,200,000, you are eligible to borrow under the plan. You can borrow up to a maximum of 40million Rwanda Franks, at a reduced rate of 11%.
For first time buyers whose monthly earnings are between Rwf 1,200,000-1,500,000, the upper limit for borrowing rises to 60,000,000, at a rate of 13%.
Within guidelines for the required standard of housing, home owners have the flexibility on where they choose to build, and the kind of house they wish to have constructed, or purchased.
Leopold Uwamana, Rwanda Housing Authority, at Launch of Gira Iwawe
According to a 2019 study, by the London based International Growth Centre (IGC), Rwanda’s capital, Kigali alone, will need 310,000 new houses by 2032, representing 15, 000 new houses, rising to 26,000, annually.
It is in response to this housing need, that the Government of Rwanda, initiated the Rwanda Housing Finance Project, dubbed Gira Iwawe, to provide affordable mortgages, with a tenure of up to twenty years.
The major chunk of the financing for the project, worth $150 million, comes from the World Bank. The Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) working closely, with Rwanda Housing Authority, administers the project, through commercial banks.
Home buyers will go through normal commercial banking, and other financial institutions. There are six of these of these to date, which include, among others, BPR, Umwalimu SACCO, ZIGAMA CSS.
To access the scheme, home buyers are asked to visit the Gira Iwawe platform, www.iwanjye.brd.rw/
Individuals or developers who wish to build, or sell affordable housing, can contact BRD at rhfp@brd.rw.
