NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, November 18, 2016

Kenya’s problems with real estate are well known: with a supply shortage of over two million houses and over 90% of the construction workforce not formally registered with the government, development is often erratic and informal. In the spring of 2015 a tech-enabled solution was set up by affordable housing and urban renewal organization Builders of Hope (BOH), with an aim of allowing people to build for themselves and to help the workforce find job opportunities.

iBUILD is a mobile application that aims to deliver housing support services and connect laborers to employers who are building their own homes. With the help of the app, Kenyan fundis, or informal construction workers, can get better access to regular work and improve their skills with on-site experiences.

“[The main] focus is on expanding access to housing at the lower demographics and increasing employment opportunities for those at the bottom of the pyramid,” ‎ director of programs and international development at US-based Builders of Hope Jonathan Godbout tells progrss. Godbout’s journey with BOH started when he was running a pro-bono volunteer program at IBM that seeks to help non-profit organizations that aim for change.