Housing Investment Landscapes

This report represents the West African segment of the African Housing Investment Landscape Programme with a focus on the housing investment landscape in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) region. The WAEMU (also known by its French-language abbreviation UEMOA) is part of different regions. Geographically it is part of West Africa, and economically it is part of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a union promoting economic integration in the region of West Africa.

The eight WAEMU member countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. WAEMU is an interesting sub-region and focus for this study because it has reached higher levels of integration than ECOWAS. Member countries share the same currency, the West African franc (FCFA), which is pegged to the euro. The strength of WAEMU economies varies, but they are globally weak. Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal represent the most advanced economies in the region. Therefore, this report investigates the trends and dynamics in the WAEMU region, with Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal as focus countries.