IIFL Home Finance Ltd (IIFL HFL) has signed a $68-million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve financial access to affordable green housing for lower-income groups in India.

The funding comprises a direct ADB loan of up to $58 million and a $10-million concessional loan by the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CFPS). The Canadian funding will also be routed through ADB. 

This is ADB’s first such agreement with the private sector in the country. From ADB’s loan, 80 per cent will be earmarked for lending to women borrowers or co-borrowers and 20 per cent will be allocated to financing mortgages for green-certified homes. 

The CFPS loan will support IIFL HFL’s green housing portfolio, specifically towards incentivising developers to adopt green certification standards in building affordable housing.

Monu Ratra, MD & CEO, IIFL HFL, said, “Funding from ADB will help us to improve the penetration of green affordable housing in deeper markets of India and fulfill the dreams of many Indian families to own their own homes. We are glad to be partnering with ADB in our growth journey.”

Path towards sustainable development goals

To accelerate initiatives that improve access to green affordable housing for meeting the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030, it is important to actively pursue issues related to climate resilience, sustainability-orientated thinking and the achievement of gender balance as fundamental approaches to development. Additionally, there is a need to address the lack of awareness around green homes.

“By leveraging IIFL HFL’s focus on financial inclusion and CPFS’ leadership on climate-resilient housing, ADB can help low-income communities to manage the impacts of climate change,” said ADB Director General, Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury. “We are pleased to support IIFL in demonstrating to the construction industry that you can build both affordable and green-certified housing for low-income households.”

In alignment with the government commitment to ‘Housing for All’, IIFL HFL provides affordable home loans to the economically weaker section (EWS), low-income group (LIG) and middle-income group (MIG). Home loans have been disbursed to over 1,40,000 borrowers as of September 30, 2021.