Incremental housing development providing affordable housing for low-income groups.
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Leveraging Business for Social Change: Building the Field of Social Business competition.
It is based on a market based model where the poor pay for the product and services they receive. The scheme is self-financing through receipts from plot payments made by the clients. The incremental nature of the scheme reduces the cost recovery burden and solvency risk that prevail in public housing schemes.
A propos de vous
Section 1: About You
Prénom
Tasneem
Nom
Siddiqui
URL du site Web
Pays
Pakistan
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Oui
Nom
SAIBAN-ACTION RESEARCH for SHELTER
Site Web
http:// web-saiban.blogspot.com
Téléphone
092-21-32259049, 32259772
Adresse
GRE-319 (2-B), Britto Road Garden East, Karachi
Pays
Pakistan
Votre organisation est-elle une
organisation à but non lucratif
How long has this organization been operating?
Plus 5 années
Your idea
Name Your Project
Incremental housing development providing affordable housing for low-income groups.
Describe your Social Enterprise
It is based on a market based model where the poor pay for the product and services they receive. The scheme is self-financing through receipts from plot payments made by the clients. The incremental nature of the scheme reduces the cost recovery burden and solvency risk that prevail in public housing schemes.
Country your work focuses on
Pakistan
Innovation
What makes your innovation unique?
Our innovation is unique because it focuses attention on issues which are generally ignored in housing schemes, both in the public and private sectors. Its highlights are:
• Incremental development and payment schedule offers affordability
• Provides immediate possession and confers legal title once the price is paid
• Targets the poor through a rigorous selection process
• Provides a healthy physical environment by building a sewerage system first, and providing access to civic amenities and social services.
• Community organization and active site management reduce crime and harassment.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
A key benefit of khuda-ki-Basti is the opportunity to live in a secure environment with legal entitlement. Residents in khuda-ki-Basti live free from the fear of eviction, unlike residents of informal settlements whose tenure is illegal and uncertain for years. Legal title is conferred upon completion of payments, allowing residents to use their homes as legal economic assets to increase their overall wealth. According to recent published evidence, owning a legal asset reduces the probability of remaining poor by 55%. Through active project management in the initial years and public participation in building the settlement, Saiban assures a safe habitat for the poor.
In urban setting, when low-income people own a piece of land, where they raise construction with their own money and have basic facilities like health, education, microfinance etc. provides them an opportunity to break the vicious cycle of poverty. It also frees them from fear and reduces their vulnerability.
So far incremental housing development has been implemented at eight locations, providing over 8000 plots to low-income families. In terms of total number of beneficiaries, this has helped around 60,000 people.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
The primary problem(s) our innovation is addressing is shortage of affordable housing to low-income groups. Saiban’s model ensures that housing is offered to the poor at affordable prices. Consistent with the socio-economic needs of low-income groups, plots with minimal services are sold to poor households for a small down payment. Subsequent payments are staggered over 6 year period, that are used to incrementally develop remaining infrastructure: electricity, sewerage disposal and water connections, etc. This incremental approach to housing thus allows residents to have a secure plot and necessary physical services at an affordable price. Social sector services soon follow.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. Include a description of the business model. What might prevent that success?
Over 8000 families have been able to find access to land at prices they could afford, and have been able to construct their houses with their own money. They live there as dignified citizens. This itself is a proof of success of our innovation.
In addition to solving the basic issue i.e. access to affordable housing, we are also paying attention to provision of social sector services which include education, health, family planning and, loans for income-generating schemes. This is done by linking the activities of NGOs/trust/foundations. Thus, it becomes an integrated urban development scheme solving major problems urban poor generally face.
Success of our model could have been prevented if people had not occupied their plots. But in our case this has not happened. Almost all the plots allocated to people are occupied.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
In the next three years, our focus will be to.
a. expand the size of our Lahore project
b. support private sector initiative to launch incremental housing schemes
c. convince the public sector to adopt our approach.
Year I Expansion of Lahore project /lobbing with the government
Year II Supporting private sector company/working with governments of Sindh and Punjab on Benazir Housing cell, Punjab Land Development Co. respectively
Year III Same as year II
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$50 - 100
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Oui
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
Saiban is working for the last twenty years and has successfully demonstrated that affordable housing to urban poor on self-financing basis can be provided. Some policy changes have already been effected. Benazir Housing Cell in Sindh, and Land Development Company in Punjab are two recent initiatives which are nearer to our concept.
We are lobbying that Social Housing Companies be established in all the four provinces of Pakistan, and laws for land allocations be changed.
Viabilité
What stage is your Social Enterprise in?
En place depuis plus de 5 ans
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Oui
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Oui
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Non
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Oui
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your Social Enterprise
a. Partnership with govermnet can help us in scaling-up the process which can ultimately result in policy changes
b. Partnership with private sector can go a long way in establishing the fact that our innovation is a business model. Once this is accepted by the developers/investors, they will find a huge market at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’
c. Partnership with foundations/trusts can help us in carrying out further research in low-cost housing
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
Approximately 250 words left (2000 characters).
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
The idea of incremental housing development did not come all of a sudden. It was the result of intensive research. Unlike conventional pattern, our teachers were not foreign consultants but slum dwellers. We studied the process of katchi abadis (squatter settlement) development and found that it was successful because it was compatible with the sociology and economics of the urban poor. We also monitored the public sector housing schemes meant for the urban poor and found that they had major weaknesses because
a. they did not pay any attention to targeting,
b. they were not affordable by majority of the urban poor,
c. there were cumbersome procedures, and corruption at every stage, and
d. timelag between announcement of a scheme andt delivery of physical/possession was huge.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
I joined the erstwhile Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1965 and served in numerous departments, both at field and secretariat level. During my long career of 40 years, I have had the opportunity to witness the rise and fall of many governments and also watched the gradual decomposition of the so-called ‘steelframe’ from the close quarters. As a trainee at Pakistan’s prestigious Civil Service Academy, I met Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan the renowned social scientist, and imbibed the formidable Khan’s moral passion to alleviate poverty and also his community-building approach to doing so.
Later working as Director General, Hyderabad Development Authority, I developed interest in housing for the low-income groups and with my team of dedicated colleagues, was successful in evolving and implementing the innovative concept of ‘incremental housing development’. The project known as ‘Khuda-ki-Basti’is now internationally recognized as one of the best options for sheltering the poor. I was awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995. For excellence in public service, I won Ramon Magsaysay Award and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1999.
As a development practitioner, I evolved new concepts of pro-poor planning in other fields also, and working as chief of Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority started a process of regularization and upgradation of squatters settlements which involved the communities at all stages of planning and development. I was able to successfully demonstrate that low-income people have the willingness and capacity to pay for the service, provided the credibility gap between them and the government is bridged and simple mechanisms are evolved to reach them.
Contributing articles to newspapers is my hobby and I have written on subject like process of social change; imperatives for land reforms in Pakistan; reasons for hyper-urbanization in developing countries; dynamics of bureaucratic rule, and analyses of development strategies.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Personal contact at Changemakers
If through another source, please provide the information
 | 94 weeks agoTasneem Siddiqui said: Difficulties in acquiring appropriate land at affordable prices is the main barrier for our social business model to thrive. Private ... about this Competition Entry. - lire plus > |
| 98 weeks agoVioleta Bendersky said: Dear Tasneem Siddiqui, According to your experience what are the main barriers or challenges so that social business model can ... about this Competition Entry. - lire plus > |
| 101 weeks agoTasneem Siddiqui said: The basic strength of our revenue model is affordability and ease of entry. Our scheme targets low-income families (through a filtering ... about this Competition Entry. - lire plus > |
| 102 weeks agoRachna Pandey Donthi said: Hi Tasneem, Could you explain your revenue model? about this Competition Entry. - lire plus > |
| 102 weeks agoTasneem Siddiqui submitted this idea. |