Abuja, Nigeria — Liberia’s housing sector is earning international recognition this week as Florence Kaeteka Geegbae, Managing Director of the National Housing Authority (NHA), represents the country at the 20th Africa International Housing Show (AIHS @20 – Legacy Edition), one of the continent’s most influential gatherings of housing leaders, financiers and policymakers.
Held from July 13-18, 2026 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria, under the theme: “Housing Solutions for Low Income and Informal Workers in Africa,” the summit brings together central bank governors, development finance institutions, mortgage banks, pension funds, real estate leaders and heads of housing agencies from across the continent — with Liberia now firmly part of that conversation.
MD Geegbae’s invitation as Guest of Honour places Liberia alongside Africa’s top housing authorities at a pivotal moment for the sector.
Her participation spans some of the summit’s highest-level engagements, including the Opening Ceremony, the AIHS Housing CEOs Forum, the AIHS Investment Forum, the Governors and Ministers Leadership Session, the Housing Commissioners and Housing Agencies Roundtable and the Development Finance Institutions Dialogue.
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At the Housing CEOs Forum, Liberia’s case for affordable housing is being presented across the full spectrum of the population — low-income, middle-class and upper-income citizens alike — positioning the National Housing Authority as an institution committed to inclusive, nationwide housing delivery rather than a narrow segment of the market.
Among her key contributions to the summit, MD Geegbae is leading a panel discussion on Housing Models for the Informal Sector, presenting a policy framework built around flexible, progressive and inclusive housing solutions that move beyond rigid, traditional mortgage systems — anchored in the internationally recognized principles of adequate housing: availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and adaptability.
Her proposed framework centers on three policy pillars:
1. Progressive Integration in Informal Housing — An incremental, in-situ upgrading approach that formalizes and improves existing informal settlements over time rather than demolishing them. The policy legitimizes the self-help building process of the urban poor by securing land tenure, extending basic infrastructure and supporting phased structural improvements.
2. Rural Housing and Slum Upgrading — Grounded in the National Housing Authority Restated Act 2026 (Section 2.3), this pillar promotes partnership-driven urban and rural renewal with local governments, communities and private developers.
The guiding principle is clear: develop, don’t demolish — and where relocation is unavoidable, ensure it is done responsibly.
3. Enhanced Government Subsidies — A shift in how public subsidies are deployed, directing support toward basic infrastructure, land formalization, and lowering construction costs, rather than displacing existing settlements.
The goal is to ease the financial burden carried by everyday homebuyers.
MD Geegbae’s framework reflects a broader argument gaining traction across rapidly urbanizing, mid-income developing countries: that effective slum upgrading depends less on bulldozers and more on strong participatory governance, secure land rights and sustainable infrastructure financing.
Rather than clearing informal settlements, her approach calls for legalizing land tenure and extending essential services — water, sanitation, and electricity — to communities already built by the urban poor themselves.
Beyond policy dialogue, the AIHS Investment Forum offers a direct pipeline for Liberia to engage the institutions capable of financing its housing ambitions — development finance institutions, commercial and mortgage banks, pension and sovereign wealth funds, private equity investors, and multilateral organizations.
For a country working to close a significant housing deficit, this forum represents a rare, concentrated opportunity to present strategic projects, explore innovative financing models and pursue Public-Private Partnerships that could reshape the pace of housing delivery at home.
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The accompanying Business-to-Business and Business-to-Government matchmaking sessions further position the NHA to walk away from Abuja not just with dialogue, but with the beginnings of concrete partnerships.
Liberia’s presence at AIHS @20 signals a broader ambition: to move affordable housing from a domestic policy challenge to a regionally connected, investment-ready sector.
By engaging directly with counterparts driving urban renewal, mortgage market development, and sustainable community design across Africa, the National Housing Authority is positioning Liberia to adopt proven strategies while opening the country to fresh capital and technical partnerships.
As the conference continues through July 18, stakeholders at home will be watching closely for the partnerships, commitments and lessons MD Geegbae brings back. Her push for progressive, community-centered housing models for Liberia’s informal sector — paired with new investment pathways secured in Abuja — could shape the next chapter of affordable housing delivery for Liberian families across every income level.