Tackling the Real Barriers to Change

At Flywheel Economics, we believe that affordable housing is not just a development goal—it’s a critical driver of economic resilience, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. Yet despite decades of effort, the challenges to delivering affordable housing at scale persist, particularly in emerging economies.

Our Affordable Housing Mini-Series brings together voices from around the world to dig beneath the surface. We explore not just the financial and technical barriers, but the deeper ecosystem issues—governance, institutions, incentives, and innovation—that truly determine success or failure.

Through seven focused episodes, we investigate what it really takes to create lasting, affordable housing solutions—and what lessons can help shift the flywheel for housing systems everywhere.

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The Episodes:

1. The Affordable Housing Puzzle: Pieces, Players, and Solutions (Part One)

We set the stage with a big-picture look at the affordable housing challenge: what’s broken, who’s involved, and why a full ecosystem approach is essential.

2. Access to Mortgages for Informal Sector Workers (Part Two)

We speak with the founder of Syntellect, a pioneering technology company, about how innovations in credit assessment are opening mortgage access to informal sector workers across Africa—challenging traditional financial models.

3. The Affordable Housing Finance Ecosystem (Part Three)

Featuring Simon Walley from the World Bank, we explore how financial systems, lending models, and macroeconomic factors shape the housing landscape in developing countries.

4. Can Blockchain Revolutionise Affordable Housing Finance? (Part Four)

We investigate how emerging technologies like blockchain are offering new pathways to unlock housing finance in places like Kenya and Mozambique.

5. Institutions Matter: Housing Policy, Capacity and Leadership (Part Five)

With Olu Olanrewaju from Altair International, we examine why robust government leadership, coherent policy, and institutional strength are non-negotiable for real progress—and whether we can innovate around their absence.

6. Who Owns the Land? Unlocking Housing through Secure Titling (Part Six) (Coming Soon)

Land rights and secure tenure are fundamental to unlocking investment in housing. This episode explores why land titling remains one of the thorniest—and most important—issues in affordable housing delivery.

7. Lessons from the Flywheel: What We’ve Learned about Affordable Housing Systems (Part Seven) (Coming Soon)

In our final episode, we step back to reflect on the series. What common threads emerged? What’s still missing? And where do we see the most promising signs of change?

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Why This Series Matters

Affordable housing solutions cannot be achieved through isolated projects or silver-bullet ideas. They require systemic thinking, institutional reform, new financial models, community engagement, and political courage. Through this series, we aim to equip policymakers, practitioners, investors, and advocates with sharper insights into where the real levers for change lie—and how we can collectively shift the system toward a more inclusive and sustainable future.

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