Income-Generating Housing

house_2What we do:

We provide a place to work; a place to live; a place to make money.

E+O has incubated a housing venture that combines incremental build, income generation and sustainable construction.

Our target customers are low-income families living in peri-urban industrial zones, as well as the builders and institutions who employ or support them.

Our product is modular, sustainable live/work spaces and housing extensions for individuals. We also provide sustainable and safe building materials and institutional structures like workforce housing, schools, clinics, childcare centers and more.

Our solution integrates affordability and quality, and is coupled with access to finance for those individual clients who need it.

Why we do it:

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Housing: 1.6 billion people live in sub-standard housing worldwide; >$340 billion self-construction market in South and SE Asia alone

Housing + Income: 167 million South and SE Asian households live in dwellings made of temporary materials that are not conducive to home-based work

Health + Productivity: In South and SE Asia, lack of access to clean water and water-borne diseases result in $6 billion annually in lost productivity and medical treatment costs

Environment: 50% of global energy and water is consumed by construction

Access to Finance: In India alone, low income households represent 90% of housing shortage; receive less than 3% of housing finance

How we do it:

We use housing as an income-generating and health-promoting asset. We integrate:

Affordability: Our modular structures, optimized with our partner engineering firm ARUP, are >20% cheaper and 80% faster to build than traditional construction; and our designs accommodate home-based businesses, so the house can pay for itself.A PLACE TO WORK3

Quality: Structures are built to last 25+ years; are fire retardant, light and ventilated, and require minimal maintenance. They are made of sustainable engineered composite boards, and have integrated rainwater catchment and clean water filters.

Access to finance: We partner with financial institutions (FIs) to offer small, short-term loans to our clients. The income generated by the E+O structure increases the client’s eligibility, and the short loan terms and small loan amounts lower the credit risk to the FIs. This results in access to finance for the informal sector.

Impact goals:

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Disposable family income: Doubles in 5 years Health and productivity: 20% improvement in 4 years

Environment: Carbon neutral construction by 3 years

Access to finance: 100,000 households in 5 years in India alone

Skills

Posted on

November 8, 2014