An association of 10,000 Ethiopian healthcare professionals is vying for a low-cost housing program. The association has reached an agreement with Dashen Bank and Gojo Bridge Housing the later to deliver 10,000 affordable housing units at separate sites.
A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Health (MoH), Gojo Bridge Housing, and Dashen Bank is scheduled to be signed by the end of September, paving the way for construction to begin soon.
Following the association’s proposal to the MoH in April to create a collective housing complex for healthcare professionals, the ministry formed a committee to investigate the scheme’s viability. The scheme was approved by the committee.
The ministry will also draft the Memorandum of Understanding.
Dashen Bank has agreed to finance the 10,000 housing units at a seven percent interest rate, payable over ten years period.
Gojo Bridge House, which opened a year ago, is a platform company that connects private land owners, home buyers, lenders, and developers.
This concept was created to take advantage of the chronic shortage of plots, mortgage financing, and developers, particularly in the capital, which resulted in a significant housing demand-supply gap.
Since its inception a year and a half ago, Gojo has assisted 1,055 Addis Ababa locals get properties in Lancha, Goro, Bella, and Bulgaria sites.
The house seeking health professionals will make an initial deposit of 59,900 birr in a closed account, per head. The beneficiaries then pay 2,200 birr monthly until the total cost of the residence is paid off over a ten-year period.
Gojo will be using Rotating Money, Savings, and Credit (ROSCA), an alternate housing finance model, to provide low-cost housing units for the health professionals.
“There will be a management, control, and technical committee for the associations. After taking over the property from the private plot owners, the associations have the authority to sell,” Aga Fufa, Gojo cooperative manager, said.
The house seekers’ associations are entitled to tax-free imports of building supplies while the house is being built.
