Bridging the Finance Gap in Housing and Infrastructure -The Alliance Case Study,India

By Ruth McLeod,August 2000



2004



The case study examines the project portfolio of the Alliance,a group of Indian organisations that
works collaboratively to address urban poverty.The Alliance portfolio is composed of precedent
setting projects that,if they prove successful,are then scaled up,normally at city-level.
The risks associated with the current portfolio are analysed and options for risk mitigation and
management are explored.In particular the risks associated with projects implemented under the
auspices of the Maharashtran Slum Rehabilitation Act are considered.
The size of the Alliance’s project portfolio is increasing rapidly as they develop successful initiatives
with a range of Municipalities.Historical sources and forms of financing are insufficient to meet the
development capital requirements of this expansion.Existing financial products and sources and
forms of funding are analysed,as are options for new forms of financing.
Finally conclusions are drawn that suggest that the Alliance’s most valuable resource lies in the
knowledge creation process that it has developed within low income,informal settlements.
Systematisation of this knowledge,which constitutes valuable intellectual capital,is not only an
effective means of mitigating risk across the portfolio of work undertaken by the Alliance.It is also
potentially an asset that should be considered as valuable collateral in the negotiation of
infrastructure and housing loans from state and commercial financial institutions.





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