Finance • Kenya: The first green bonds financing low-carbon student housing

According to the World Bank, Kenya needs to build 250,000 homes annually for four years to erase its housing deficit of 2 million homes, even as some 60% of Nairobi’s population lives in slums. In 2019, Acorn Holding, a Kenyan property development company, issued East Africa’s first-ever green bonds. Initial evidence is now available to assess the mechanisms and impact of this financial instrument for developing affordable, low-carbon student housing.