Design the Micro-Mortgage That Puts Home Ownership Within Reach

Nigeria has a housing deficit of over 28 million units. The formal mortgage market finances fewer than 50,000 homes per year. The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria's NHF loan product exists but is inaccessible to the majority of workers due to bureaucratic requirements and long processing times. Informal rental is the result — monthly spending with no asset accumulation. Your challenge is to design a micro-mortgage product that enables households earning ₦150,000 to ₦400,000 monthly to purchase homes valued between ₦8 million and ₦20 million. It must require a deposit below 15%, accept alternative income documentation for informal earners, process within 60 days, and price interest at no more than 12% annually. Submit a financial product design document (max 12 pages) including: the credit assessment model for informal income earners, the deposit and repayment structure, how the 12% rate is achieved given cost of capital, the legal and title transfer mechanism, a default management protocol, and a plan to originate 500 mortgages in the first 18 months. Judging criteria: 40% financial model credibility at 12% rate, 30% informal income assessment, 20% legal and title design, 10% origination plan.