A review of Affordable Housing in Ghana and Africa: Colonial Legacies, Finance and Emerging Innovations
ByUri
1.0 Introduction
Ghana faces a persistent affordable housing crisis, exacerbated by rapid urbanisation, historical policy failures, and institutional constraints, as evidenced by these studies. A critical review reveals common themes of colonial legacies, financing gaps, and implementation barriers while highlighting innovative pathways. These insights highlight the need for targeted research and policy reforms to promote sustainable housing in Africa.
2.0 Historical Roots
Colonial interventions and neoliberal reforms entrenched Ghana’s housing crisis by prioritising elite interests over mass provision, leading to land commodification and exclusionary urban development. Studies such as Addo and Mba (2021) trace this genealogy, critiquing how post-independence policies failed to reverse these patterns, while Boateng and Klopp (2024) link elite capture to multidimensional exclusion in neighbourhoods. Konadu Agyemang (2001) further shows that structural adjustment programs eroded affordability in Accra, a gap that has been underexplored in recent work.
3.0 Policy and Implementation Gaps
Ghana’s housing policies suffer from inconsistent execution, with public programs such as self-help and PPPs faltering due to elite bias, bureaucratic delays, and the exclusion of low-income groups. Afrane et al. (2025) and Damoah et al. (2020) emphasise stakeholder misalignment in public housing and PPPs, while Ameh and Osafo (2020) highlight industry constraints, such as land access. Bondinuba et al. (2018) critique the role of urbanisation in low-income delivery failures, revealing a pattern of top-down approaches that ignore local dynamics.
These studies collectively show that Ghana’s housing problem is less about the absence of policies and more about how they are designed and implemented. Ameh and Osafo (2020) illustrate that successive policies-self-help, social housing, and PPPs-have been introduced without continuity, producing overlapping mandates and programmes that rarely reach low-income households. Afrane et al. (2025) find centralised decision-making and superficial consultation; ministries claim engagement, yet key actors, such as beneficiaries, local governments, and developers, report limited influence over priorities, standards, and allocation rules.
Damoah et al. (2020) show that PPPs are often structured around land and guarantees that favour politically connected partners, while slow approvals and unclear risk allocation delay projects and drive up costs. Ameh and Osafo (2020) emphasise challenges such as access to serviced land, high material costs, and weak financing, which lead developers to either avoid affordable segments or deliver units priced beyond the reach of target groups. Bondinuba and Stephens (2018) argue that rapid urbanisation interacts with national housing policies to marginalise low-income groups, as programs are planned at the national level and implemented in cities with little adaptation to local socioeconomic realities. Their work highlights that informal self-build, rental markets, and community land arrangements remain central to low-income housing. However, policies and PPP schemes rarely integrate or support these practices, reinforcing exclusion. The findings suggest that effective housing policy must institutionalise the genuine participation of municipalities, communities, and small developers at all stages-agenda setting, design, implementation, and evaluation- to avoid elite capture and misaligned projects. Addressing land access, infrastructure provision, and city-level planning, alongside PPP and self-help schemes, would make programmes more responsive to local demand and reduce the implementation failures highlighted in these studies.
4.0 Financing and Market Challenges
Mortgage access remains limited by high costs and institutional weaknesses, as documented by Dinye et al. (2025), who identify rental market distortions in Kumasi driven by housing-supply shortages. Ofori (2024) connects inadequate mortgage financing to broader affordable housing deficits in developing countries, while Bondinuba et al. (2018) analyse microfinance demand factors. Okoro et al. (2023) warn of risks to private investment, underscoring the need for policy mechanisms to share risk. These studies highlight several issues in the housing finance landscape in Kumasi and similar regions. Mortgage constraints and high borrowing costs lead to fewer new developments, pushing rents upward and fostering exploitative housing conditions. In many developing countries, including Ghana, mortgage markets serve only higher-income individuals, leaving most households without affordable financing options. Housing microfinance has potential (Bondinuba et al., 2018), but is hindered by design and accessibility challenges for low-income families.
Additionally, macroeconomic and project-level risks (Teye et al., 2017) deter private investments in affordable housing. It is suggested that addressing supply issues requires more than improved mortgage products, given the persistent land and construction constraints. To mitigate this risk, policy directions include developing tiered housing finance solutions, introducing risk-sharing mechanisms, and linking financial solutions to rental and land reforms to facilitate the development of affordable housing.
5.0 Innovation Strategies
Frugal innovations, appropriate technologies, and cooperative models show promise, as advocated by Dok-Yen et al. (2023) in a bibliometric review and Tekpe et al. (2022) through context-specific designs for Ghana’s cities. Bhanye et al. (2024) synthesise SIAH strategies like 3D printing and community-led housing for Africa, while Adigeh and Abebe (2024) detail Ethiopia’s cooperative land acquisition lessons applicable to Ghana. Eyiah and Bondinuba (2020) note SME financing preferences as enablers of innovation.
These studies provide a forward-looking agenda for affordable housing while identifying significant gaps in the literature. They emphasise innovation, inclusivity, and the relevance of local realities in the Global South. However, they have limitations in terms of empirical implementation, fragmentation across housing domains, and a lack of political-institutional analysis. Policy recommendations suggest designing interconnected policies and creating enabling ecosystems rather than isolated actions. Future research should focus on longitudinal evaluations, integrated cost modelling, and the influence of governance and power dynamics on cooperative housing models.
6.0 Future Directions
Future research should prioritise longitudinal evaluations of PPPs and frugal innovations in Ghana, comparative studies with Ethiopia’s cooperatives, and gendered impacts on the urban poor. Policies must integrate beneficiary involvement, land reforms to curb elite capture, and incentives for green micro housing via public-private blends. Strengthening local artisan roles, as Hedidor et al. (2016) suggest, alongside climate-resilient financing, will foster inclusive growth.
7.0 References
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Adigeh, D. T., & Abebe, B. G. (2024). Land acquisition policy and practice for cooperative housing schemes in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia: toward affordable housing solutions. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1234620.
Afrane, E., Jaafar, M. N., Ismail, A., Bondinuba, F. K., Kwakye, B., & Boakye-Agyeman A., & Amankwah, O. (2025). Enhancing affordable public housing policy implementation in Ghana : An empirical analysis of stakeholders’ perspectives. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 30(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.21315/jcdc.2025.30.2.1
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