Aavas Financiers Ltd. in association with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and EDGE Buildings recently organized an interactive seminar on ‘Leading to Greener Mumbai’ in Mumbai. The event provided a venue for a discussion about renewed commitment for green and sustainable structures to overcome the significant gap in the country's affordable, environmentally friendly housing.

After witnessing immense success at their previous roadshows in Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Delhi, the Green India Drive was hosted in Mumbai, a city with a major stake in the dialogue for affordable, eco-friendly homes. A wide range of local and international players attended the event, including government officials, municipal organisations, universities, financial institutions, builders, developers, architects, and consultants. The forum served as a platform to engage in a dialogue about the difficulties and potential solutions in scaling up green house finance, particularly in the affordable market. Stakeholders in the housing industry play a pivotal role in driving sustainable development which has become even more critical in the wake of deteriorating climate conditions. Three-panel discussions centred around: ‘How can Mumbai benefit from transition to green?’, ‘How to Plan, Build and Adopt Green?’ and ‘Where is the Money for Green?’ were also held at the seminar.

“South-Asian countries are facing severe air pollution due to rapid urbanization and economic growth despite efforts to address climate change. These roadshows are an attempt to create a platform that brings together key people from the government, corporates, and the intellectual community for a fruitful exchange of ideas and to synthesise efforts for supporting green building initiatives. At Aavas, an organisation committed to empowering the underserved markets outside the formal sector, our vision has always been to innovate and develop affordable green housing financial products that can benefit the country in our efforts to address climate change. Working together with IFC, we are looking forward to sharing our experience and knowledge of green housing finance and assisting the creation of a greener and liveable society for everyone,” said Mr. Ripudaman Bandral, CCO, Aavas Financiers Ltd.

Aavas and IFC have been national partners in innovating a streamlined and cost-effective transition to green, self-built homes. Since the project’s inception, the partnership has striven to eradicate barriers to individual green home certification across the lower and middle-income households of India. A platform like Green India Drive is extremely significant to synthesize local efforts with a global vision.

The Green India Drive programme was led by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, in collaboration with Aavas Financiers Ltd. This project aims to bring together regional stakeholders to pinpoint certain obstacles and chances pertaining to green structures and their investments. Subsequently, a series of one-on-one meetings and capacity-building exercises will be carried out in order to achieve this, and they will culminate in a big conference on green construction. In the upcoming months, similar roadshows will be held in Bengaluru and other cities in India.

Aavas Financiers Limited incorporated in 2011 in Jaipur is a retail, affordable housing finance company, primarily serving customers in semi-urban and rural areas in India. The company provides affordable home loans in the un-served market and most of its customers have limited access to formal banking credit. Its mission is to enrich the lives of people by enabling them to achieve their dream of owning a home. For more information visit www.aavas.in

International Finance Corporation (IFC)—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. It works in more than 100 countries, using capital and expertise, and strives to raise living standards by creating opportunities and mobilizing investors towards developing countries.