iLima Digital Foundary has retained New York-based investment bank, Cambridge Wilkinson, to help spearhead the arrangement of capital for the transformation of affordable housing construction in Africa.
Image credit: Annie Spratt | Unsplash
Collectively, both companies have a wealth of knowledge and experience in new product development and innovation. The iLima AI-driven Construction Innovation Platform (ACIP) will be rolled out in South Africa and the rest of Africa making way for an ingenious concept that will benefit low-income individuals and project stakeholders around the world.
The cycle of poverty throughout the world will not be broken unless it is given the urgent attention it requires. Almost 1.6 billion houses are needed to shelter the poor in the next 25 years worldwide (Forbes). NGO Shelter Afrique has estimated that five hundred million homes have to be built in the next 25 years to address the current housing crisis in Africa alone.
“The exponential growth of the population of young people on the African continent is a reality and a developing need that has been the focus of many endeavours,” says Anthony Modena, joint CEO of iLima. “So vast is the scale for the need of rapid development solutions, which is impossible to use 19th and 20th Century concepts alone. Our collaboration with Cambridge Wilkinson is focused on raising capital to enable a laser focused and robust development of systems-oriented solutions that would not otherwise be possible.”
The joint effort between iLima and Cambridge Wilkinson aims to bring financing to create cost and time- saving, quality solutions to the entire affordable housing construction lifecycle. The goal is to make affordable housing no longer synonymous with cheap and inferior structures but with homes that are superior to their predecessors that bring dignity, pride, and self-sustainability to communities.
“It is about looking at the complete lifecycle and eco-system for Affordable Housing. Starting with the acquisition of land, to feasibility studies and planning, to the design, the build, and the finally the operation of the building. It is much more than just looking at the buildings, it is about looking at the needs, requirements, and job creation of the total community. It is really about holistically addressing the overall concept of affordable living” says Karsten Popp, CEO iLima.
“Cambridge Wilkinson already has a strong focus on ESG, Real Estate, and Affordable Housing. By working with iLima we expand our global focus on arranging financing for technology for the next generation of affordable housing innovation for both emerging and first world countries. Affordable housing is a global challenge” says John Bulicek, Managing Director, Cambridge Wilkinson.
About Cambridge Wilkinson:
“Cambridge Wilkinson is a leading global investment bank with the speed, connections, and confidence to get deals done. With a focus on middle-market companies, we arrange debt and equity capital raises from $25 million to $5 billion and advise on mergers and acquisitions. We bring deep experience working with specialty finance institutions and real estate entities, as well as businesses spanning a variety of other industries. We offer unique access to a broad network capital source including large family offices, credit funds, banks, non- bank credit groups, insurance companies, private equity, sovereigns, and endowments.”
About iLima Digital Foundary:
“iLima is an independent company based in Johannesburg and San Francisco, disrupting the current construction process by harnessing big data, robotics, and industrialized construction technologies to accelerate the construction of affordable housing and self-sustainable communities for Africa. This will be achieved through our unique AI-driven Construction Innovation Platform (ACIP) matching producers and users across the complete building lifecycle enabling the building of Affordable housing “cheaper, faster with more quality and sustainability.” Everything Africa Ready.
