Our Goal is to Establish New Urban Communities According to the CEO of the Social Housing Fund

Our Goal is to Establish New Urban Communities According to the CEO of the Social Housing Fund

Mai Abd El-Hamid Participates in the WUF12 World Urban Forum

The CEO of Egypt's Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund participated in the World Urban Forum 12 (WUF12), the world's premier conference on urban development and sustainable cities organized by UN-Habitat. She represented Egypt in discussions on innovative approaches to providing affordable housing solutions.

During the forum, she participated in a dedicated session on sustainable housing solutions, where she shared Egypt's experience and the lessons learned from implementing large-scale social housing programs.

Participation in the Housing Crisis Dialogue Session

Mai Abd El-Hamid participated in a high-level dialogue session on the global housing crisis alongside distinguished international figures including:

  • Emmanuel Cosse (France)
  • Aziza Akhmouch (OECD)
  • Audrey Giral Naybles
  • Amina Bouktab
  • Bruno Kone

The session was moderated by Yves-Laurent Sapoval. Mai Abd El-Hamid expressed her happiness at participating in this international platform and took the opportunity to review Egypt's urban development experience and the achievements made in providing housing for low-income citizens.

Challenges in Providing Adequate Housing for Low-Income Citizens

The CEO highlighted several key challenges in Egypt's housing sector:

  • Population growth: Egypt's rapidly growing population creates enormous pressure on housing supply, requiring continuous expansion of housing programs
  • Vulnerable groups: Certain population segments face particular difficulties accessing housing units, including women (especially widows and divorced women) and people with disabilities, who require targeted programs and adapted support mechanisms

Using World Bank and Other International Institutions' Expertise

Egypt has leveraged international expertise to overcome financial barriers to social housing:

The Sakan le Kol el Masreyeen (Housing for All Egyptians) program faced significant challenges including:

  • High interest rates making mortgage payments unaffordable for low-income families
  • Banks' reluctance to extend mortgage financing to informal sector workers with irregular incomes

Solution: Egypt implemented a mortgage finance initiative that provides subsidized interest rates and accessible financing terms, making homeownership achievable for low and middle-income families.

Enhancing Financial Inclusion

One of the most significant achievements of Egypt's social housing program is its contribution to financial inclusion:

  • The program started with participation from just 4 banks and has grown to include 22 banks plus 8 real estate finance companies
  • Remarkably, 65% of beneficiaries were first-time bank users — meaning the housing program brought them into the formal financial system for the first time
  • This represents a major step toward financial inclusion for Egypt's large informal sector workforce

Sustainability

Egypt's social housing program incorporates multiple sustainability dimensions:

  • All units comply with Egyptian building standards and environmental specifications
  • An integrated maintenance system ensures the long-term quality and habitability of housing units
  • A judicial control system maintains order and proper management of housing communities
  • Social equity: 24% of beneficiaries are women, and 5% of units are allocated for people with disabilities
  • Green Architecture Initiative: Plans to build 55,000 eco-friendly housing units incorporating energy-efficient designs and sustainable building materials
  • World Bank partnership has supported the program since 2014, providing technical and financial assistance to improve program design and implementation

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