Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) has launched its first sustainable bond issuance, valued at FCFA 60 billion (approximately US$100 million), to mobilise local-currency financing for affordable, sustainable and energy-efficient housing projects across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region.
The transaction is arranged by CGF Bourse Dakar as Lead Arranger, with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Ecobank Group, through Ecobank Senegal, participating as anchor investors.
The issuance comprises two tranches: a five-year tranche at 6.10% and a seven-year tranche at 6.30%. The subscription period runs from 7 to 30 October 2026.
“This transaction represents an important step in ShafDB’s ambition to mobilise African capital for Africa’s development priorities,” said Nabil Mahfoudh, Director of Treasury at Shelter Afrique Development Bank. “Our objective is not simply to raise capital, but to build a more diversified and resilient financing platform for housing and urban development. By deepening our presence in West African capital markets, we are connecting local savings with urgent development needs and deploying financing in the same currency in which local developers generate revenues.”
Advancing ShafDB’s transformation
The issuance forms part of ShafDB’s broader transformation into a pan-African multilateral development bank, with an expanded mandate to scale its development impact across its 44 shareholder countries.
The Bank is diversifying its funding sources, strengthening access to African capital markets, mobilising resources from international partners and reinforcing its capital base to respond to the continent’s growing demand for housing and urban infrastructure financing.
ShafDB’s Managing Director & CEO, Thierno-Habib Hann, said the Bank’s transformation has been anchored around increasing its capacity to mobilise capital and deliver sustainable development solutions at scale across Africa.
Financing housing in local currency
The WAEMU region faces a substantial housing deficit, with estimates cited by the World Bank Group putting the shortfall at approximately 3.5 million housing units, while around 250,000 additional units are required annually to keep pace with population growth and urbanisation.
The bond will help channel financing towards affordable, sustainable and energy-efficient housing while reducing the currency mismatch associated with long-term real estate investments.
“By aligning financing currencies with project revenues, local-currency funding can help reduce borrowers’ exposure to foreign-exchange risk and support more sustainable financing structures for developers,” said Mr. Hann.
Sustainability at the core
ShafDB partnered with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to develop its Sustainable Financing Framework, which received a favourable external opinion from S&P Global, reinforcing the transparency and credibility of the Bank’s sustainable finance approach. The transaction has also received the regulatory visa approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers de l’UMOA (AMF-UMOA).
Mobilising African capital
The issuance contributes to the momentum behind the New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD) and the Abidjan Consensus, which seek to strengthen the mobilisation of African savings and deepen the continent’s capital markets as a complement to international development resources.
ShafDB has extensive experience in African capital markets, having completed 11 bond issuances across various markets. Its most recent transaction was in April 2022 on the Nigerian market, where it raised NGN 46 billion, approximately US$110 million.
Through its first sustainable bond, ShafDB is reinforcing its role as a catalyst for African capital mobilisation and sustainable housing and urban development, while advancing its transformation into a stronger, more diversified and impact-focused pan-African development finance institution.
