Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company (TMRC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in August 2022 to engage in an effort to promote the ability of TMRC in unpacking the potential of Housing Microfinance (HMF) in Tanzania and supporting TMRC to develop and expand its commercial relationships with low income consumers as a means of increasing their access to affordable and quality housing solutions, a first step in the organizations’ joint-effort to expand and strengthen the low-income housing finance sector in Tanzania.
Focusing on housing microfinance, the partnership aimed to support lower-income Tanzanians and those working in the informal sector to more easily purchase, build or upgrade their homes, a segment of the population that has traditionally been underserved by the housing finance sector.
Through this partnership, HFHI's Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS) provided Technical Assistance to; TMRC to develop the Refinancing product and retail housing finance products for two Financial Institutions to develop and roll out a Housing Microfinance portfolio.
We are happy to share that in November 2025, TMRC secured approval of the Refinancing product from the Central Bank of Tanzania. This is a huge milestone not only for TMRC but the market in general as this will allow for TMRC to start refinancing HMF portfolio’s in the Tanzanian financial market.
As part of the retail financial market development, the two Financial Institutions started piloting their HMF products, following a successful Technical Assistance provided by TCIS with a lot of success recorded to date.
Echoing this market development, Mr. Oscar Mgaya, Chief Executive Officer of TMRC, said: “This approval represents a major transformation for Tanzania's housing finance market. It strengthens our ability to channel sustainable, long-term capital into housing microfinance, enabling financial institutions to confidently scale their portfolios and extend life-changing housing solutions to low income and informal sector households. The collaboration with Habitat for Humanity has been pivotal in reaching this milestone and we remain fully committed to expanding these innovative financing pathways so that more Tanzanians can access affordable, quality homes.”
Under this partnership, Habitat for Humanity's Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter will continue to support TMRC to explore opportunities for developing new mechanisms and structures for capital investment in HMF but also continue to provide Technical Assistance to three (3) new Financial Institutions in developing and rolling out the HMF products in the Tanzanian market.
“This partnership between TMRC and Habitat for Humanity represents a turning point for housing finance in Tanzania. By launching a locally designed and locally funded housing finance solution in local currency, we have demonstrated that affordable housing challenges require local responses,” said Naeem Razwani – Senior Director Global Financial Inclusion and Capital Markets from HFHI's Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS).
He added that this milestone will unlock greater flow of capital toward meeting the housing needs of low-income families who do not qualify for traditional mortgage products, thereby bringing decent, affordable homes within reach and reshaping Tanzania's financial landscape. It also sets a clear, replicable model for housing finance institutions and policymakers in emerging markets across Africa and beyond as they seek to introduce similar transformative housing solutions in their own countries.”
Based on the learnings and success of the pilot, TMRC and HFHI are planning to scale this model in order to develop new mechanisms and structures for capital investments for the purpose of on-lending to low-income families through new housing microfinance products.
Habitat for Humanity pioneered microfinance solutions to the housing constraints faced by low-income families. Habitat's MicroBuild Fund was – the world’s first housing-specific microfinance investment vehicle – it has disbursed US$151.6 million to 59 institutions since 2012, helping more than 1 million people gain access to improved housing. TMRC has played an important catalytic role in supporting the mortgage market in Tanzania to grow from TZS in 2011 to TZS 76.7 billion S 720 billion in 2025.
About Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company Limited (TMRC)
Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company Limited (TMRC) is a specialized private-sector financial institution that provides long-term funding to financial institutions for mortgage lending purposes. Since its inception, TMRC has helped to extend the mortgage tenors available in the market from 5-7 years in 2011 to up to 25 years today. It has the objective of supporting financial institutions to do mortgage lending by refinancing Primary Mortgage Lenders' (PMLs') mortgage portfolios. This type of lending is also known as wholesale or secondary market lending. TMRC is neither taking deposits nor lending directly to individuals. It refinances mortgage loan portfolios rather than individuals mortgage loans and caters to banks rather than individual borrowers. For more information, visit www.tmrc.co.tz
In addition to mortgage financing, TMRC has the objective of providing long term funding to financial institutions offering housing microfinance products for the purpose of improving housing finance access in microfinance sector. The objective is in alignment with TMRC sole establishment purpose of increasing home ownership to Tanzanians and anticipates starting refinancing housing microfinance portfolios in year 2026 through its wholesale housing microfinance lending products namely; Refinance and Prefinance.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity is a movement of people around the world, working together to build more prosperous and vibrant communities by making sure everyone has a safe, affordable place to call home. Since our founding in 1976, we have helped more than 62 million people globally build their futures on their own terms through access to decent housing. We've done that by working alongside people of all walks of life to build, repair and finance their homes, by innovating new ways of building and financing, and by advocating for policies that make constructing and accessing housing easier for everyone. Together, we build homes, communities and hope. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org
About Habitat's Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter
The Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, a unit of Habitat for Humanity International, works with housing market systems by supporting local firms and expanding innovative and client-responsive services, products and financing so that households can improve their shelter more effectively and efficiently. The ultimate goal of the Terwilliger Center,s market systems program is to make housing markets work more effectively for people in need of decent, affordable shelter, thereby improving the quality of life for low-income households. To learn more, visit habitat.org/tcis.