WALVIS BAY – The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) has invested N$494 million with real estate giant International Housing Solutions (IHS).
The firm specialises in housing projects, and provides funding and property management solutions.
They also finance the development of energy-efficient (green) and affordable housing communities across Africa.
GIPF’s general manager for investments Conville Britz justified their latest investment at a groundbreaking ceremony at one of IHS’ projects in Walvis Bay yesterday.
“We need to earn a return on these investments, considering the regulations that govern how we, as pension funds, can invest. We can invest internationally or in neighbouring countries, and there is a local investment requirement that we need to meet,” he said.
The new development, Dune Hills, is currently being constructed next to Dunes Mall in Walvis Bay.
So far, IHS has constructed over 1 700 housing units at the Bridge Park units in Okahandja, Khomas Hill in Windhoek, Pelican View and Kwankomo in Walvis Bay, as well as the Otjomuise Lifestyle Estate in Windhoek, amongst others.
Britz stated that pension funds generally need to invest the contributions they receive from members and employers to meet their liabilities as people retire, change jobs, or die.
He added that despite Namibia having a well-developed debt market, the government is the largest participant.
“In terms of what IHS has delivered in Namibia, it’s been decent and affordable housing, which helps address one of these developmental challenges.
Our partnership with IHS and fellow institutional investors has shown what can be achieved in addressing these challenges, with decent and affordable housing being one of them,” he continued.
The type of developments and business models IHS implemented here previously might have seemed unlikely to succeed in Namibia due to cultural differences.
“People thought Namibians wouldn’t want to live in flats or lock-and-go apartments, but this has been proven wrong. With over 2 100 units completed, and a further 862 under construction, high occupancy levels have been achieved, which many property investors would envy,” Britz noted.
He further said GIPF’s investments in IHS, along with those of other investors, have exceeded N$1 billion.
“We successfully attracted over 65% of this committed capital to Namibia, addressing a fundamental human need for decent and affordable housing.
This investment not only provides decent accommodation for tenants, allowing them to live with dignity, but also creates jobs during the development process. The housing units are designed to save users money on utilities like electricity, which is something the teams at IHS can be proud of,” he continued.
Speaking on IHS’ behalf, Henk Snyman said they started in South Africa about two decades ago.
Since then, they have gone on to branch out to Namibia and Botswana.
“We recently got another fund in Kenya as well, and have been supported by various institutional investors over the years. Locally, we’ve built about 1 700 units to date that’s in operation. In occupation after this development, which is 424 residential units, that number would be well over 2 000 units in Namibia alone,” Snyman enthused.
He added that this is quite significant, as the housing projects impact people’s lives – not only through providing affordable housing solutions, but also by creating jobs.