The Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company Limited (TMRC), in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, has launched new Retail and Wholesale Housing Microfinance products designed to enable low-income households, particularly those working in the informal sector, to build, improve, or expand their homes through affordable financing.
The launch follows a pilot programme implemented with the National Bank of Commerce Limited (NBC) and FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited (FINCA), after which the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) approved TMRC to refinance housing microfinance portfolios, allowing banks and microfinance institutions to scale lending targeted at underserved households.
The initiative forms part of a partnership between TMRC and Habitat for Humanity International that began in August 2022 and has focused on developing client-responsive housing finance products, strengthening institutional capacity among financial institutions, and testing commercially viable approaches to expand access to affordable housing finance.
Technical support for the programme was provided by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter, which works with financial institutions and housing sector stakeholders to develop scalable housing finance solutions for households that are excluded from traditional mortgage markets.
Housing microfinance products are designed for families that cannot qualify for conventional mortgage loans, allowing households to access smaller and more flexible financing that can be used incrementally to construct, upgrade, or expand housing based on their financial capacity.
Speaking at the launch, TMRC Chief Executive Officer Elibariki Ndossi said the new products form part of the institution’s strategy to increase home ownership among Tanzanians while supporting government efforts to improve access to safe and secure housing.
Ndossi said TMRC provides long-term funding to financial institutions for onward lending to Tanzanians for housing purposes, adding that the new product will be accessible to banks and financial institutions operating in the country with the objective of expanding affordable and appropriate housing financing solutions.
Habitat for Humanity’s Senior Director for Global Housing Finance Systems and Capital Markets, Naeem Razwani, said that although Tanzania’s mortgage market has continued to grow, formal access to housing finance remains limited for a large share of the population, particularly households working in the informal economy.
Razwani said TMRC’s focus on local currency financing reduces foreign exchange risks and improves affordability for borrowers earning income in Tanzanian shillings while allowing financial institutions to expand housing finance products targeting low- and middle-income households.
Tanzania faces a large and growing housing deficit as population growth and urbanization increase demand for housing in major cities and secondary urban centres, with estimates indicating that more than 200,000 new housing units are required annually while the formal supply of affordable housing remains significantly lower.
Limited access to long-term housing finance, high construction costs, and the large share of workers in the informal economy have historically restricted the reach of mortgage lending in Tanzania, making alternative financing mechanisms such as housing microfinance increasingly important for expanding access to home improvement and incremental housing construction.
