Low-income families to gain access to housing microfinance
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- Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic and the country’s leading microfinance institutions have joined forces to ensure that housing loans help build safe and lasting homes.
Santo Domingo, January 2020.- Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic is helping the country improve the living conditions of families who form part of the qualitative housing deficit, through products that give low-income families access to microfinance for home improvements and repairs.
Microfinance has been an effective tool for increasing access to decent housing for low-income populations, where very few people are part of the formal financial system, explained Juan Mendoza, finance manager at Habitat Dominican Republic.
“At Habitat Dominican Republic we recognise families’ needs, and that is why we have designed financial products suited to microfinance institutions to give the less fortunate an opportunity, together with training on saving, healthy housing, family budgeting and other innovations as needed,” Mendoza added.
Housing microfinance refers to non-mortgage loans intended to finance home improvements, repairs and incremental construction. They share features common to microfinance, such as small loan amounts, short terms, market-based pricing and non-mortgage guarantees.
A home is often described as one of the “big three” priorities for low-income families worldwide, alongside food and education. That is why Hábitat Dominicana and the country’s leading socially conscious microfinance institutions have joined forces to offer housing microfinance, ensuring that the loans actually help build a safe and lasting home for families, which sets them apart from consumer loans.
Housing support services are increasingly being recognised as an important, complementary value of socially oriented, responsible and sound housing microfinance.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic is an international non-profit organisation that seeks to improve the living conditions of low-income families through access to decent housing and programmes focused on reducing risk and strengthening disaster response.
With a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, it empowers families to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. To date, the organisation has delivered more than 26,000 housing solutions and impacted around 135,000 people.
Habitat homeowners are not mere spectators; they take part in the solution to their housing needs. Many work alongside volunteers, use tailored credit or other methods. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. We empower people through housing. For more information, visit habitatdominicana.org