Basic Info

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Nominee Information

Institutional Information

Member State Egypt
Institution Name Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund
Institution Type Public Agency
Administrative Level National
Name of initiative Housing For Egyptians
Projects Operational Years 7
Website of Institution https://www.shmff.gov.eg

Question 1: About the Initiative

Is this a public sector initiative? Yes

Question 2: Categories

Is the initiative relevant to one of the UNPSA categories? Category 2: Enhancing the effectiveness of public institutions to reach the SDGs
UNPSACriteria
NoItems

Question 3: Sustainable Development Goals

Is the initiative relevant to any of the 17 SDG(s)? Yes
If you answered yes above, please specify which SDG is the most relevant to the initiative. (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
Goal 1: No Poverty
Goal 3: Good Health
Goal 5: Gender Equality
Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Goal 13: Climate Action
Goal 15: Life on Land
Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Which target(s) within the SDGs specified above is the initiative relevant to? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
3.a Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women
5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
6.a By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
6.b Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all
9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and trans-border infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all
9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and, by 2030, significantly raise industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries
9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets
10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality
11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
11.a Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
11.b By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse
12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities
12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, publicprivate and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts

Question 4: Implementation Date

Has the initiative been implemented for two or more years Yes
Please provide date of implemenation (dd/MM/yyyy) 01 Jan 2014

Question 5: Partners

Has the United Nations or any UN agencies been involved in this initiative? No
Which UN agency was involved? (hold Ctrl to select multiple)
Please provide details

Question 6: Previous Participation

1. Has the initiative submitted an application for consideration in the past 3 years (2017-2019)? Yes
If Yes, enter year 27-Nov-2019

Question 7: UNPSA Awards

Has the initiative already won a UNPS Award? No

Question 8: Other Awards

Has the initiative won other Public Service Awards? No

Question 9: How did you learn about UNPSA?

How did you learn about UNPSA? EMAIL

Question 10: Validation Consent

I give consent to contact relevant persons and entities to inquire about the initiative for validation purpose. Yes

Nomination form

Questions/Answers

Question 1

Please briefly describe the initiative, what issue or challenge it aims to address and specify its objectives (300 words maximum)
Initiative: Program under umbrella of social housing and mortgage finance fund (SHMFF) will assist government of EGYPT to improve performance of housing sector by designing and implementing new programs that will address the gap to provide adequate and affordable housing units for low income households. Objective: Improve affordability for low-income households in Egypt, hence building integrated housing communities with needed services through designing and coordinating policies in affordable housing sector. Challenges: • Informal settlements phenomena; Providing affordable housing units, rationalizing construction and design standards. Thus program succeeded to provide 390K households with subsidized units through mortgage finance amounted to ($2.7 billion). • Enhancing women empowerment, only 5% of women in Egypt own assets according to Women’s Economic Empowerment Study released in 2019, while Program succeeded to achieve gender equality, with 65% acceptance rate to women application. • Digital illiteracy, 69% of Egyptian citizens used SHP automated platforms and tools for the 1st time. Program succeeded to apply automated applications for both application submission and payments collection which considered the first automated housing service provider in Egypt and Africa. • Bridging Financing Gap, encourage Private Banks and Mortgage Finance Companies (MFC) to provide mortgage loans and raise affordability of low-income citizens. program succeeded to increase its cooperation protocols to reach 33 mortgage lenders through launching incentives packages to encourage public, private banks and MFC, providing mortgage finance with an average of ($7K) per beneficiary with subsidized interest rates, funded by Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and Ministry of Finance (MOF). • Expand Private Sector Participation; Program offered new initiative to expand their participation in building affordable housing for low-income household, almost 200 private and public contractors are now engaged. In addition to private field investigation and checking companies.

Question 2

Please explain how the initiative is linked to the selected category (100 words maximum)
The program sets eligibility criteria for subsidizing applicants to ensure reaching low income households. Applying automated process reduced the average turnaround time to seven weeks speeding up subsidy allocation by 87%. Moreover, automation added more control and monitoring on affordable housing system. The program developed procedures manuals to achieve high efficiency and effectiveness rates. In addition, launching an automated complaint system to strengthen citizen engagement, respond for household needs and articulate citizens voice besides their complaints thus improving quality of services products.

Question 3

a. Please specify which SDGs and target(s) the initiative supports and describe concretely how the initiative has contributed to their implementation (200 words maximum)
• Million affordable units over 283cities within 27governorates (urban and rural) to raise rural areas capabilities with mortgage finance facilities & subsidized interest rate to enhance affordability, using automated applications system and investigation tools to achieve social justice. Out of 1.3million applicants, 65%dealt with banks for 1st time. 80%of beneficiaries are among lowest 40% household, 22%are women and 18%are self-employed, also allocating 5%of units for disabled-citizens. • Directing population growth to cities-borders, protecting agricultural lands from encroachment by increasing public supply of fully-serviced affordable housing in new cities, keeping balance of ecosystem, using eco-friendly building materials, adopting Affordable Housing-GPRS to decrease climate change hazard. Allocating units for emergencies and disasters, as during Covid19-Pandemic. • Separating every four-buildings with green-spaces, equipped with clean water, electricity, gas, solar cells, road networks, and transportation to reduce commuting time. • Providing awareness campaigns. • Recycling solid waste. • Rationalizing water usage through gray water tanks and triple sewage treatment plants. • Smoking is prevented in all public services institutions. • Attracting billions of investments, contributing with 2%to GDP. • Procurement public tenders to ensure transparency. • Generating 3million jobs including small professions. • Cooperating nationally with (CBE-MOF-NUCA-MCIT-Banks-MFCs) plus finalizing (PPP)-initiative agreement to increase private-sector participation. Internationally, with many countries (Indonesia-Tanzania-Yemen and others).
b. Please describe what makes the initiative sustainable in social, economic and environmental terms (100 words maximum)
The program is socially sustainable as it targets lowest 40% households providing them with affordable fully finished & serviced housing units, using $1 billion loan from WB funding covering upfront down payment subsidy. In addition to, new subsidized interest rate initiative over 30 years by the CBE& MOF to achieve economic sustainability. Moreover, program is currently working on a new subsidized rental program for newly married couples. It’s environmentally sustainable through adopting green concepts that will help to reduce the impact of construction activities on climate change and rationalize the consumption of energy resources, monitored by Affordable Housing GPRS.

Question 4

a. Please explain how the initiative has addressed a significant shortfall in governance, public administration or public service within the context of a given country or region. (200 words maximum)
Building million adequate, safe and subsidized affordable units for low-income households with subsidized infrastructure cost ($ 6.6k per/unit) deducted from unit price by 2024; to overcome an acute shortage of affordable housing. Up till now, program succeeded to construct over 537k units, allocated 410k units, and under construction 320k units. Unified eligibility criteria was adopted to ensure system governance and reach targeted low-income households. Periodic income levels review according to last announced Income & Expenditure study, monitored interest rate and down payment subsidies. Investigating applicant’s, I-Score, incomes levels and ownership status before under writing loans. Huge reduction by 87% in application turnaround time (from 11to7 weeks), transforming paperwork systems to automated applications to enhance transparency, and prevent fraud. Addressing the complexity of macroeconomic environment which resulted in high inflation and high interest rates. Hence, so far granting mortgage finance liquidity at a Long-term Subsidized Interest Rate amounted for $2.7 billion for 390K households, with average mortgage loan reached $7k/household. Average LTV absorbing low-income citizens’ savings in down-payment. In addition to granting $433 million upfront down-payment subsidy ranging from $333 to $ 4k according to each beneficiary income level. Therefore, to enhance affordability lowest income groups get highest subsidy.
b. Please describe how your initiative addresses gender inequality in the country context. (100 words maximum)
Remarkably, women have a higher acceptance rate for loans that reached 65% and up to 22% of total beneficiaries are women. Adopting positive discrimination policies leading to empowering women, strengthening their economic and cultural position, and guarantying equal access to credit facilities, mortgage finance, and ownership. Priority is given to female headed household in the worst housing conditions (widow or widow with kids, divorced or divorced with kids) to obtain affordable housing unit with full property rights, and ensuring that contractual provisions are in place to protect women who financially contribute to the down payment and installments.
c. Please describe who the target group(s) were, and explain how the initiative improved outcomes for these target groups. (200 words maximum)
The program is targeting low income households, focusing on marginalized groups: Lowest income 40%, over three-fourths of household beneficiaries during the past five years were in the lowest 40% of Egypt’s household earned-income distribution, representing 80% of total beneficiaries. Program allows them living in quality affordable housing, experience less health issues, lower crime and drug usage rates. Women, 22% of total program beneficiaries are female-headed household; policy eliminates any form of discrimination or limit provisions for women to hold unit rights. Accordingly, improving safety, income levels, and more employment opportunities. Increasing their potential contribution to economic growth, enhancing their children health and performance at school. Citizens` with special needs, allocating 5% of total housing units, Guarantying their constitutional right to adequate housing in accordance with national & international standards. This enhanced their psychological and social needs, through integrating them into society, and eliminating any form of discrimination. Self-employed, remarkably 18% of beneficiaries are Self-Employed, for the first time in Egypt this segment is included ensuring that Self-Employed applicants are eligible to apply for housing unit, allowed to receive mortgage finance, enabling them to have more discretionary income to buy health insurance, start new business, etc.

Question 5

a. Please describe how the initiative was implemented including key developments and steps, monitoring and evaluation activities, and the chronology. (300 words)
Reach neediest citizens: • In 2014, launching of SHP for low income households. • In 2015, signing $500 million Loan agreement with World Bank (WB) to provide upfront demand side housing subsidy to targeted low income citizens. Bridging finance Gap: • In 2014, signing $1.3billion agreement with CBE to provide subsidized interest rate (5% - 7%) over 20 years to beneficiaries. • In 2019, signing new initiative with MOF to cover interest rate differential between subsidized and market rate to continue offering units at affordable conditions. • In 2020, increasing maximum provided subsidy amount from $2.7k to $4k. • In 2021, signing new initiative with CBE at 3% interest rate over 30 years, which is the lowest ever in Egypt. Shifting towards Green Building: • In 2018, new environmental initiative to extend the program SDG’s targets through implementing basic green architecture and sustainable urban development communities monitored by affordable housing GPRS. Scale up program financing: • In 2020, signing additional finance of $500 million with WB, to increase number of beneficiaries by 31%. Enhancing Monitoring and Evaluating activities: • In 2014, adapted automated application system to eliminate paperwork and accelerate services. • Since 2014 up till now, evaluating program measures yearly through Internal and externally Audit by an Independent Verification Agency (IVA). • In 2017, Improving monitoring and evaluation, through applying automated housing units’ allocation system to provide applicants greater confidence in program’s transparency. keep up with technology and social media: • In 2019, introducing new automated initiative for mortgage finance installments collection through various payment hubs, in cooperation with CBE, to provide faster and easier service. • In 2020, launching platform for social engagement through Facebook Page to publish program updates, communicate directly with households and replying to their inquiries, announcing new calls for applications. YouTube channel to provide illustrative videos.
b. Please clearly explain the obstacles encountered and how they were overcome. (100 words)
• Scarcity of land, thus exploiting cities-borders to build new cities connected with all Facilities and Services close to employment centers. • High interest rate, initiative of ($1.3 billion) with CBE to offer subsidized interest rate (5% - 7%) over 20 years, followed by MOF initiative in 2019, covering market differential subsidized interest rate over 20 years. New initiative with CBE in 2021 with 3% interest rate over 30 years. • High construction costs, two loans agreements were signed with WB amounted $1 billion to continue providing necessary upfront down payment subsidy and finance affordable housing to low-income households.

Question 6

a. Please explain in what ways the initiative is innovative in the context of your country or region. (100 words maximum)
Providing innovative services: - Long Term Subsidized Mortgage Finance Liquidity Facility at 3% interest rate and an upfront down payment subsidy ranging from $ 333 to $ 4K changing according to income level. - Appling first Affordable Housing Green Pyramid Ratification System (GPRS) for affordable housing to reduce health hazards, and contribute in mitigating and adapting to climate change throughout new communities. - Appling the first housing automated application system for affordable housing in Egypt and Africa. - Targeting new cities to reconstruct cities-borders areas and create new urban cities, ensuring their well distribution over 283 cities within 27 governorates.
b. Please describe, if relevant, how the initiative drew inspiration from successful initiatives in other regions, countries and localities. (100 words maximum)
The program is inland tailored and a product of the Egyptian planning and management. It has been completely formulated by Egyptian thoughts to suit the needs of the Egyptian low-income families. The program shared its experiences, and thoughts with more than one country.
c. If emerging and frontier technologies were used, please state how those were integrated into the initiative and/or how the initiative embraced digital government. (100 words maximum)
Adapting technological strategy to accelerate provision of services, saving time and effort using new technology and automated operations. Thus eliminating paperwork and accelerate subsidies and mortgage applications. Services have grown exponentially in handling cases (from 300 to 90,000 cases/annually), as well as reducing turnaround time from eleven to seven weeks. - Households submit online application. - Automatically Units allocation according to priorities. - Announcing Screening Results and Online Grievances. - Applicants requests and complaints can be submitted online. - Electronic collection of down payment is currently proceeding. - Facebook page and YouTube channel were created to assist applicants’ inquiries.

Question 7

a. Has the initiative been transferred and/or adapted to other contexts (e.g. other cities, countries or regions) to your organization’s knowledge? If yes, please explain where and how. (200 words maximum)
• Iraq, February 2021, Ministry of Housing representatives had attended a regional workshop in Egypt, organized by UN settlement program, titled “Activating the strategy of housing reconstruction and developing housing sector”, Egyptian success story of affordable housing was presented. • December 2020, Pakistan Housing Authority in cooperation with WB, requested sharing Egyptian Housing experience, fundamentals of operational, monitoring systems, and IT system. • Uzbekistan is currently implementing SHP inspired by Egyptian SHP starting December 2020. • Yemen, in response to their request, a delegation was invited (October 2020), to share knowledge of program’s most important features and developments. • September 2020, program was communicated to FHS in Senegal, to illustrate operational and organizational working system, twining agreement was hindered because of Covid-19 pandemic. • During 10th World Urban Forum held in February 2020, Ministry of Housing in Zimbabwe articulated their willingness to learn from Egyptian program. • Workshop “State Support for Housing Finance” was held in 2018, with Afghanistan, resulted in cooperation between SHP and AHP, to design an affordable housing model to start new housing project. • In 2016, there were exchange-visits between Egyptian delegation and Saudi Arabia to transfer engineering and technical expertise through training courses and workshops of building projects on land.
b. If not yet transferred/adapted to other contexts, please describe the potential for transferability. (200 words maximum)
initiative is already adopted to other context

Question 8

a. What specific resources (i.e. financial, human or others) were used to implement the initiative? (100 words maximum)
Land: Free serviced lands areas connected to basic infrastructure from New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA). Finance: In 2015, WB first $500 million loan to subsidize low-income households and in 2020 additional finance loan of $ 500 million, to increase targeted low-income households by 31%. Liquidity Facility: CBE offered $1.34 billion initiative to subsidize mortgage interest rate differential from 18% to (5% & 7%). Followed by MOF initiative to continue offering subsidized mortgage interest rate differential. Human resource: Over 1000 professional and clerical efficient employees participated to manage subsidy operation, beside three million skilled and unskilled workers to construct housing units.
b. Please explain what makes the initiative sustainable over time, in financial and institutional terms. (100 words maximum)
Financial: Diversified funding sources amounted for $10 billion to construct new units, thus reducing burden of constructing housing units on the State Budget. Moreover, subsidizing down payment are guaranteed by WB loans and subsidized interest rate are secured by CBE and MOF agreement to pay market differential rates. Institutional: SHP targets building million affordable housing units for low-income households, with continuous technical support from WB to improve subsidy mechanism; Collaborating with stakeholders, applying automated systems to accelerate mortgage finance applications. Enhancing financial inclusion through mortgage banks/companies using automated payment mechanism. Moreover, strengthening citizen engagement via automated complain system.

Question 9

a. Was the initiative formally evaluated either internally or externally?
Yes
b. Please describe how it was evaluated and by whom? (100 words maximum)
Independent Verification Agency (IVA) assigned by the World Bank to measure the impact of reforms implemented thus: -Management meetings held to determine if changes took-place in; control, procedures, factors affected SHP (regulations, legal matters, changes in structure or operations). -On site reporting, auditors examine systems’; ability to record, process data (downloading system reports, site visits). -Auditors request files, documentation from internal auditors to ensure systematic coverage of operation, run data, assist beneficiaries’ reports. -External auditors deliver Final Report detailing the audit findings. If found discrepancies in reporting or non-compliance of rules and regulations, auditor recommend immediate rectification.
c. Please describe the indicators and tools used (100 words maximum)
Program consists of four Components including 12 indicators: -Strengthening Governance and Institutional Set Up of Housing Sector: • IAD establishment, operation, to providing assurance service. • Interest rate subsidy, to ensure SHP sustainability. • legislation adoption for installment sales. • Green standards into SHP. • Serve beneficiaries efficiently -Enhancing Transparency and Accountability: • Establishing M&E system, “Multi-Year Plan, Annual Targets” • Effective respond to citizen complaints. • Mechanism for monitoring occupancy. -Improving Access to Affordable Housing: • Number of Subsidized new housing unit/year. • Number of Subsidized rental unit/year. • Number of Housing units developed by private-sector. -Promoting Well-located Social Housing. • Units located within 60 minutes or less to employment center.
d. What were the main findings of the evaluation (e.g. adequacy of resources mobilized for the initiative, quality of implementation and challenges faced, main outcomes, sustainability of the initiative, impacts) and how this information is being used to inform the initiative’s implementation. (200 words maximum)
IVA report ensured that SHP is responsive for effective demand, making use of vertical solutions for housing, preventing people from occupying hazard areas, ensuring adequate use of public space and protect privacy. All resources used for implementation are adequate with an Occupancy Rate reaching 93.77%. Appropriate affordable housing units’ sites are connected to transportations network, basic infrastructure, surrounded by health and education services. Housing units’ locations are within Governorates and Cities-Borders facilitates, within commuting time to workplaces not exceeding 60 minutes. During covid-19 pandemic, an automated interactive C-Services website “https://cservices.shmff.gov.eg/” was introduced to compensate for customer services centers closure, providing a new facility to respond quickly to requests and answering quarries, such as “submitting / completing the required documents”, amending applicants’ data. Introduction of New rental scheme for citizens who can’t afford ownership, finalization of a new (PPP) initiative agreement to increase private sector participation on December 2020. In addition to mobilizing three new units “Media & Public Relations, Environmental, Grievance & Complain units” to cover citizens’ needs as indicated in 2020 evaluation.

Question 10

Please describe how the initiative is inscribed in the relevant institutional landscape (for example, how it was situated with respect to relevant government agencies, and how the institutional relationships with those have been operating). (200 words maximum)
In 2014 SHP was launched for low income households in coordination with governmental institutions and signing agreements protocols with: -MHUUC: Proposing, planning, launching SHP and supervising its implementation, in order to provide affordable housing units for low-income households. -NUCA: governmental entity under affiliated to MHUUC, providing free serviced infrastructure land areas, and assisting in designing and building affordable housing units on SHP expenses. (Total finished units reached 537K, under construction 320K, and 143K Planned to build). -Post Office: Using the well spread offices for TORs distribution, and down payment deposit collection. -MCIT: Establishing automated system, to assist applicants, reduce costs, and save time & efforts; Portal was built with an online application, online payments, and online status inquiry to shorten turnaround and ease work load. -CBE: Approved a subsidized credit mortgage finance liquidity facility to Egyptian banks and mortgage finance companies amounting to $ 1.34 billion to subsidize mortgage finance, to bridge gap between market and subsidized interest rate to facilitate affordable housing ownership. -MOF: Stepped in to subsidized interest rate to keep the Program sustainable and affordable for low-income citizens with the depletion of CBE initiative.

Question 11

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts emphasis on collaboration, engagement, partnerships, and inclusion. Please describe which stakeholders were engaged in designing, implementing and evaluating the initiative and how this engagement took place. (200 words maximum)
• MHUUC, Proposing, planning, supervising SHP development and implementation. • Continuous technical assistance collaboration with the WB technical teams, and evaluating (SHP) through disbursement-linked Indicators to achieve success measures. (IVA) yearly assessment to ensure goals achievement. • Engagement of (CBE) to subsidized credit mortgage finance liquidity facility for Egyptian Banks, Mortgage Finance Companies to bridge the gap between market and offered interest rate subsidizing affordable housing ownership. • MOF partnership to subsidized interest rate to keep the Program sustainable and affordable for low-income households, with the depletion of the (CBE) initiative. • (NUCA) Provides free serviced lands, assisted in designing and building units. Total number of finished units reached 537K, under construction reached 320K, and 143K units Planned to be built. • Collaboration with 33 private and public financing entities (banks/companies), providing finance with 4.5% profit margin for low-income household with lower than 1% default rate. • (MCIT) supported the Program with automated systems to assist applicants, reduce costs, save time & efforts, using portal for online application, online payments, online status inquiry to shorten turnaround time and ease work load. • (HBNRC) designed Affordable Housing (GPRS) for Green initiative and is cooperating with (SHP) in implementing, and evaluating this initiative.

Question 12

Please describe the key lessons learned, and how your organization plans to improve the initiative. (200 words maximum)
Shifting from supply to demand side subsidies is key lesson learned over the past few years, which enhanced efficiency, transparency and subsidy targeting to the lower income groups. Reducing down-payment requirement for low-income households. Subsidies are set to increase with decreasing income levels, and are linked to a maximum affordable mortgage loan by a financial institution. Automation was implemented to facilitate services provision, through an automated system for recording and verifying citizen's documents, services have grown exponentially in handling from 300 to 90,000 cases annually, and reducing turnaround time to seven weeks, thus accelerated the submission process and made allocations more transparent. Moreover, studying the actual demand as a more efficient approach for resource allocation, to shorten demand latency, fulfill low-income household demand, enhance the performance of the program and improve supply chain efficiency. Shifting towards green buildings concept, to prioritize citizens’ health and well-being through launching a new initiative to build green affordable housing units certified by Affordable Housing GPRS by 2024. Applying efficient design which lower construction costs through using Eco-Friendly building materials, separating buildings by green spaces to increase adequate light and ventilation system. Using solar heaters and cells for lightning shared public areas reducing utility bills.

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