ADB approves $100m loan for affordable housing in BD

Project aims to provide long-term housing loans to 40,000 low and middle-income households by 2031

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million concessional loan to expand access to affordable and resilient housing finance for low- and middle-income households in Bangladesh, with a particular focus on women.

The Inclusive Affordable Housing Finance Project will channel the funds through Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and eligible microfinance institutions (MFIs), the bank said in a statement on Sunday.

The financing will allow them to provide long-term, collateral-free loans to families seeking to build, repair or improve their homes.

The project is aimed at addressing shortages of safe and affordable housing and limited access to housing finance among households with informal incomes that are often not served by conventional mortgage lenders.

“Housing is a critical foundation for dignity, opportunity, and resilience,” said ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Qingfeng Zhang.

“By helping low- and middle-income families, especially women, invest in safer and more resilient homes, this project will contribute to Bangladesh’s broader goals of reducing poverty, strengthening social protection, enhancing human development, and fostering more inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” he said.

ADB expects the project to provide housing loans to at least 40,000 households by 2031, including at least 32,000 women borrowers and 24,000 borrowers living in areas vulnerable to natural hazards.

The project will also promote financial and land literacy and raise awareness of housing rights.

ADB said housing security for women would be strengthened through stricter documentation of borrowers’ spousal residency arrangements.

To improve resilience, the project will incorporate design, construction and protection measures aimed at helping homes withstand flooding, cyclones, extreme heat and other disaster and climate risks.

The project is also expected to strengthen Bangladesh’s housing finance sector and encourage greater private-sector participation by improving the capacity of PKSF and MFIs in data and risk management, hazard screening, portfolio monitoring and digital reporting.

The financing includes $40 million from ADB’s climate adaptation resources, along with an additional $600,000 in technical assistance grants.

ADB is a multilateral development bank supporting sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth across Asia and the Pacific. Founded in 1966, it has 69 members, 50 from the region.