Saiban allows former slumdwellers to purchase legal housing and access infrastructure.
Investment Stories
The Challenge
- 30% of Pakistan's population is estimated to live in unplanned, precarious squatter settlements.
- Without legal title to the land they live on, they can be evicted at any time and hold no economic collateral that could be used to gain access to formal credit markets.
The Innovation
- Saiban provides poor squatters with access to plots of developed land in several settlements at affordable rates, thus providing them with secure residential tenure and public utilities in areas where they would normally have no real access to property or such services.
The Impact
- Even before construction has begun, demand by slum residents to purchase plots is high, reflecting a desire for this new type of housing and their willingness to commit resources toward obtaining better housing.
- Acumen Fund and Saiban continue to move towards the goal of providing over 500 poor urban families with secure housing in a planned residential community. This will also spark entrepreneurial opportunities for people who come to live in and provide services to the new development.
- Saiban offers the possibility of title to the land, giving the poor of Pakistan an important piece of economic collateral.