Dear Participant Options for Homes Cameroon (the developer). Options is a developer of cost-effective residential homes for sale. Registered and incorporated in Cameroon with an arête number 0036/E/2/MINHDUH/SG/DHA of 03 Dec 2012. Options is an international affiliate of Options for Homes Canada. We are dedicated to providing quality homes to Cameroonians, creating jobs in the economy, and rather than wealth accumulation, Options for homes promotes wealth distribution. We are dedicated to making home ownership available to the people of Buea, quality homes that are attractive and energy efficient. Options for Homes is one of the biggest Housing Cooperatives in Toronto Canada. Our purpose is to facilitate the production of housing and related infrastructure in Cameroon and other African countries, with particular emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. Other international affiliates have been established in Rwanda, Nicaragua, Colombia and Peru, Kenya. In Cameroon we have ongoing activities in Limbe II with a mission to provide over 300 housing units on a 15hecater land. We strive to provide attractive, quality and cost effective homes to people in Africa, thereby creating jobs in the communities, building equity for families and improving the general wellbeing of people. For example, our counterparts in Kenya and Rwanda are creating jobs on field and in the office with over 30 full time staff employees, several part-time employees and many volunteers. And in Cameroon we have given jobs opportunities to over 50 Cameroonians in our activities. Owning your own home is a big step toward the creation of wealth. We like to see our model of housing as a holistic approach to community development. For your reference, we have included a brief company profile in this presentation. This document expresses the vision that Options for Homes (Options) has developed for its work based on what Options has accomplished in Canada as it might apply to countries around the world. Options has built this vision around the idea of beginning a multi-

generational process to make countries strong and self‐sufficient. Options is committed to putting in place companies in partnership with Local council, private sector and the government, to concentrate solely on using housing and socially related issues to improve an economy within a decade.

When Options started its work in Canada many experts said that what we were trying to do was impossible. Granted, Options’ method of using sound business techniques, applied by dedicated workers, who are reasonably paid, to create profits that are targeted to trust funds which are dedicated to building housing, is a new concept. However, to date it has proven both effective and efficient. Our non‐profit companies always work in association with private companies thus creating both social opportunities and great business opportunities. Deltera, Options’ business partner in Canada, is a construction company owned by Tridel, the largest developer in Toronto. They have accepted moderate returns in exchange for large volumes, which generate significant total profits. Our 13‐year collaboration with Deltera proves that Options’ approach can establish a mutually beneficial relationship between for‐profit and non-profit entities in the pursuit of the vision to create affordable housing. We seek to prove this in countries around the world. Housing development is a key driver of economic growth especially in locations with growing populations. Turning undeveloped property into built up liveable environments generates a lot of value and beneficial multiplier effects that ripple through the economy. Countries that have recognised the importance of housing and supported thriving housing development industries have enjoyed the benefits of economic growth and ample housing

choice.

Those

with

weak housing industries suffer from a proliferation of slums in growing urban areas and limit ed housing choice. “Developed” countries such as the United States and Canada took advantage of the opening of their “demographic window” in the first half of the 20th

century to grow their economies. This was a time of rapid population growth from immigration and childbirth. Innovations in housing finance, primarily the introduction of long‐term fixed rate mortgages in the US and mortgage insurance, led to an explosion in home construction and ownership. Consider that in 1900 when the US population was 75 million, less than 30% of households owned their homes. By 1950 when that population had doubled, the homeownership rate exceeded 50% finally peaking at about 68% in 1970. Little is said about the impact that the construction of millions of new homes in the United States had on the broader economy. Entire industries were created to meet the demands of these households. The Options Model’s one way to address the global imbalance in housing development is to convince developed nations to redirect their financial resources and expertise to developing countries. The other is to help developing countries unlock the tremendous value hidden in their undeveloped housing markets. This is where the Options model comes in. All real estate development has the potential to unlock real estate wealth. The improvement of undeveloped land almost always creates surplus value (profit). The Options model differs from other approaches in its deliberate management of the surplus created through development for the benefit of the broader community. The Options model focuses on building homes at the lowest possible cost to make them affordable to as many people as possible. This low cost development approach yields a significant amount of surplus that developers normally would take as profit and is in fact the reason why many fortunes have been made in real estate. In the Options model the surplus is “captured” in a non-profit entity created explicitly to manage surplus for the benefit of the entire community. This entity reinvests the surplus in more housing developments and in social enterprises, and in the process creates even more surplus that is again captured and reinvested. The result is a self‐perpetuating financing model that quickly generates significant financial resources for the community. In recent years, “developed” nations have suffered the effects of speculative building because they do not acknowledge the impact of changing demographics. In the United States

attempts to raise ownership rates above 68% through financial engineering- as opposed to stimulating genuine demand – led to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. Spain, Ireland and the UK are also reeling from speculative housing markets. Demographics no longer support large-scale home construction seeking the highest possible price. Policymakers with the power to influence financial decisions worldwide have concluded, based on their almost singular focus on developed” country economies, that real estate development is risky and should be curtailed at almost any cost. While developed countries are constraining- their housing industries, developing countries that need the housing have very little built. While developed countries have aging populations, developing countries have young and growing populations. Whether or not this population growth is desirable, these people have to live somewhere. Sadly, at a time when developed countries foreclose on millions of homes, developing countries are assessing the expansion of slums. In other words, resources that should be channeled to housing development in countries where it is needed have instead been used to create speculative housing bubbles. An increasingly globalized economy has not figured out how to allocate resources where they are needed most. One way to address the global imbalance in housing development is to convince developed nations to redirect financial resources and expertise to developing countries. The other is to help developing countries unlock the tremendous value hidden in their underdeveloped housing markets. This is where the Options model comes in.

The Options model does more than produce cost-effective housing. It impacts household wealth and builds healthy communities. Getting low and moderate income households to own a home is a challenge that governments in the world have tried to address often with limited success. The Options model also creates healthy mixed-income communities. While Options focuses on cost-effectiveness, Options communities have a small percentage of high-income owners, a majority of middle-income owners and some low-income owners.

Studies through the world have shown that mixed income communities are healthier than communities with a concentration of high or low incomes. Concentrations of high or low income create ghettoes with undesired social characteristics. Mixed income communities provide better housing choice – because of their responsiveness to affordability- and allow for mobility between levels of affordability. People can trade up or down depending on their needs and still live within the community. By contrast, in communities with concentration of low or high income housing, people looking to trade up or down are forced out of the community.

Africa’s Housing Shortage There is now near universal acknowledgement of the magnitude of Africa’s housing shortage. Cameroon needs over 1millions houses produced every year to meet up with demand, Kenya needs 150,000 houses produced every year to meet its demand. Currently Kenya is producing between 10,000 and 15,000 homes only per year. Nigeria has a backlog of 20 million homes and an annual deficit of 1 million homes. This means that if Nigeria does not do something dramatically different, in 5 years’ time, its housing backlog will have grown to 25 million homes. Rwanda has a backlog of over 100,000 homes and an annual deficit of over 30,000 homes. Again if nothing different is done, that backlog will exceed 400,000 homes within a decade. There has been a significant raise in the prices of rental homes in Cameroon because of the housing shortages .For instance, in Buea a room which was rented at 20.000fcfa in 2012 is now 35.000fcfa. In Yaoundé, a room was rented for 35000 in 2012 is now 60.000 and in Douala a room which was rented for 50.000 in 2012 is now 90.000. Dear participant, following these projections you will all agree with me that there is a need to step up the processes in the housing market to ramp up production. But for that to happen we all have to review some policies and some constraints developers face in the housing market.

Developing Concerns: Mortgage financing – We cannot overemphasize the importance of mortgage financing. .Without Mortgage financing our impact on the housing shortage in Cameroon will be minimal. Regardless of our best efforts to build cost effective houses, production costs will continue to rise and homes will continue to be more expensive in the future. Therefore, without access to reasonable interest rate mortgages, many Cameroonians will not be able to buy homes. A well structured housing market can only be effective when there is a sustainable and accessible platform for mortgages. Financial institutions, including Central Banks, Credit Foncier and sheter Africa have to take a long term view to the housing sector. The amount and cost of money has to be adjusted to support the development and ownership of housing.

Policy makers and financial institution must review the following: 1. Review the interest rates 2. Set a minimum period for loan disbursement 3. Set up a credit Bureau for the creation of flexible mortgages and follow up. 4. Set up a data bank from where information on mortgages can be freely accessed 5. Organize workshops and platforms for public sensitization on mortgages 6. Set up a free zone and straight forward mortgage that qualifies every citizen. 7. Planning control team that allows flexible mortgages to both the fix and flexible income earners

Tax Laws on housing - Policy makers have to review the real estate. Housing production is the only activity in a developing country that can create divers jobs instantly. Any concessions that housing developers in Cameroon receive in this area will be passed through in their entirety to making the homes more cost–effective.

Governments - and other local councils have to create and sustain an environment that encourages domestic and foreign investors to participate aggressively in the housing development sector. Government should allow Local councils have the autonomy to create flexible town planning mechanisms and building permit commission that are not politically manipulated Land issues Land issues need to be resolved quickly. While virtually every African country has different problems related to land, there are some near universal challenges. The result is that land prices are escalating so quickly that they threaten to overwhelm any other effort to make housing affordable. Government should set up workable and realistic platforms for the allocation of land for housing considering the rapid growth of urbanization in Cameroon. Some of the land use laws and regional planning laws are too old and even difficult to access. Stake Holders like Developers, Agents, brokers, engineers, architect, consulting firms and financial institution must create a workable platform that allows support, transparency of the housing market that is not politically cultivated. Options for homes appreciates the work credit Foncier Du Cameroon is doing to improve on the housing sector in Cameroon.

WHAT WE OFFER; Options for Homes believes this forum can solve the million of housing problems we all face . However, at this time, foreign participation is necessary to accelerate housing production. Getting foreign partners into the housing market requires an intermediary that can link African clients with foreign participants like what credit Foncier du Cameroon is doing. This is the critical role that Options for Homes Cameroon is ready to partner in. Because we believe in our model and its potential in Cameroon, Our Partnership with Credit Foncier Du Cameroon has generated a ripple effect that can begin to solve some of the housing problems we all face. We understand CrEDIT Foncier and partners are doing the difficult works required to get foreign partners actively engaged in addressing our housing needs. We want to assure you that whatever solutions we agree on and practice in this forum will be the best available alternatives. We have had the opportunity to discuss our model with several prominent institutions some of which have/are supporting our model and have expressed their interest in working together to see that the model succeeds in Buea. Some of these institutions are (to name but a few) include: Deltera in Canada, options for homes Canada, shelter African, credit Foncier Du Cameroon and The Ministry of Housing and Urban development We are generating a huge interest for our homes both (to local people and expatriates) and in the Diaspora. We have also explored many financing opportunities and we have sat down with financial institutions in Canada and in Cameroon to discuss our housing model, looking for financing opportunities and especially with long term projects. For this reason, we are confident that with Option’s history of credibility and the fact that financial institutions have recognized this as a long term and sustainable project, we have secured the financial mechanisms and expertise required for our works.

Options for Homes is committed to following a realistic process with partners and stake holders to give this forum an outcome

DEVELOPMENTS: The Ocean View Estate LimbeThe Ocean View Estate is OHHCOOP’s first development in Cameroon and is conceived as a modern, medium density mixed income community. The Estate is to evolve a community structure that will be self-sufficient especially with respect to the provision of social, cultural and community maintenance needs. More fundamentally, it is to integrate the Ocean View Estate into the overall socio-cultural and economic structure of the municipality in which it is situated and the Limbe City as a whole. •

38 ACRES/ 15 HECTARES

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WITH 25 HOMES AT THE VERGE OF OCCUPANCY

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EXCELLENT OCEAN AND MOUNTAIN VIEWS

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THE LIMBE II IS AN EXCITING AND GROWING MUNICIPALITY

ARIAL VIEW OF THE OCEAN VIEW ESTATE PROJECT SITE.

Ocean View Estate is located in the West-Coast zone of Limbe. It covers an area of 15 hectares and shares common boundaries with Chantier Naval to the West, Limbe II Municipal Office building to the South and the Mokundange Village New Layout to the East. It is characterized by gentle slopes and is relatively flat in some parts of the estate. The estate is readily accessible from several parts of Limbe but the primary access to it, is the Mile two (2) SONARA West Coast highway. It has an excellent view of SONARA, the Botaislands and the ocean view, depicting its uniqueness.

PICTURES OF EXISTING HOMES AT OCEAN VIEW ESTATE

The Limbe I Estate-

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5 HECTARES

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SITE PLAN AVAILABLE AND SITE READY FOR SALES

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EXCELLENT OCEAN AND MOUNTAIN VIEWS

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THE LIMBE I ESTATE IS AN EXCITING AND GROWING SITE, SITUATED AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE COMMERCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CENTERS.

The Mountain View Estate Buea•

7 HECTARES

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WITH THE HOUSING DESIGNS AVAILABLE AND SALES HAVE COMMERCED

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EXCELLENT MOUNTAIN AND THE RUPI HIGHLAND HILLS IN VIEW

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BUEA IS AN EXCITING AND GROWING MUNICIPALITY

BUEA SITE VIEW