Our Activities

The IFC Uganda Primary Mortgage Market Initiative, started in August 2007, and aims at fostering the large-scale development of the housing market in Uganda. The initiative is managed by IFC's Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa, with technical support from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. It is supported by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), and African Development Bank (AfDB).

The initiative has three main components.

1. Working with financial institutions to develop and launch mortgage products.
   The program helps participating financial institutions develop products, services, and processes to originate mortgage loans It also advises financial institutions on how to raise long-term resources to fund their mortgage activities. The program also advises financial institutions on how to raise long-term resources to fund their mortgage activities alongside the advisory project. Through the Mortgage Funding Program, IFC provides local currency denominated long-term funding to local banks in Uganda, which the banks on-lend as mortgages to the public. Presently, three local financial institutions: DFCU Bank, Orient Bank and Stanbic Bank, are participating in the program.
   
   
2. Working with the government of Uganda to improve the legal, tax, and regulatory framework for mortgage finance. This component focuses on foreclosure and eviction rules, favorable mortgage provisioning, and capital rules for residential mortgage investments, as well as the promotion of a secondary mortgage market. The program will also make recommendations for incentives in the tax code to promote home ownership and attract institutional investors to the mortgage market.
   
   
3. Improving supportive processes particularly land titling and working with supporting industries such as real estate companies and appraisal firms to build the components necessary for a strong mortgage market.