Bringing Structure & Scale to Nigeria's Real Estate Sector

Nigeria's mortgage market has historically been small relative to the country's housing needs. The Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) established the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) as a ₦1 trillion vehicle registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), offering 20-year mortgages at a fixed 9.75%. It combines federal capital with pension and institutional investment and uses off-take guarantees to manage developer risk.

Before the fund could begin lending, its legal and transaction structures had to be agreed, the financial model had to be tested, SEC registration completed, capital raised and a programme office established to coordinate the work under board and government oversight.

Carter supported the Programme Management Unit through the pre-funding, SEC registration and operationalisation phase. This included reviewing legal documentation and transaction structures, testing assumptions in the financial model and preparing memoranda, including fund-release requests to the Ministry.

The team also supported market-sounding and investor roadshows. Across the workstreams, Carter coordinated custodians, fund managers and technical and legal advisers, maintained a document tracker and consolidated adviser feedback to keep registration and operationalisation on schedule.

The institutional work included supporting adviser briefings, defining roles, onboarding programme staff, preparing the first annual operating budget and developing reports, executive presentations and talking points for MOFI's board, the Ministry of Finance, National Assembly committees and ministers.

By the end of this phase, the fund had moved from concept to a registered, capitalised and operational vehicle. SEC registration was in place, the Federal Government had provided a first ₦150 billion tranche, roadshow activity had supported roughly ₦100 billion of private-sector capital, and a programme office and reporting rhythm were in place for the fund managers.

The fund has since disbursed ₦128 billion in mortgages to 1,859 families. That subsequent lending activity belongs to the fund managers; Carter's role was to support the fund's preparation for launch.

Custodians, fund managers, legal and technical advisers, the board, the Ministry and National Assembly committees all moved at different speeds on this fund, as they do on most large public funds. A single programme office with clear ownership and a steady reporting rhythm kept those pieces aligned from structure to launch. The same approach applies to other funds and reform programmes nearing launch.