IIFL Home Finance has signed a $150 million loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to expand affordable housing finance for women from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) and Low-Income Groups (LIG) in urban and peri-urban areas across India.
The agreement was disclosed in a press release cited by Business Standard on Friday. The financing will support IIFL Home Finance’s efforts to increase access to home purchases among low-income women, with the stated objectives of improving living standards, promoting women’s economic empowerment and advancing financial inclusion.
The JICA funding will be provided through IIFL Home Finance for home acquisitions by eligible women borrowers. The company said the financing is intended for beneficiaries in urban and peri-urban locations, extending the programme beyond major city centres to areas connected to India’s expanding urban footprint.
The project will be implemented through a co-financing arrangement involving the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and private financial institutions, including MUFG Bank Ltd. Under the arrangement, the proceeds from JICA will be on-lent through IIFL Home Finance to support housing purchases by low-income women.
The structure places a housing finance company between international development lenders and individual borrowers. For eligible households, the funding is expected to strengthen the availability of credit for home acquisition. The announcement, however, did not provide details on the number of loans planned, the interest rates offered to borrowers, the geographic distribution of the financing or the timeline for disbursement.
The focus on women borrowers links housing finance with ownership and financial inclusion objectives. The company said the programme would support women belonging to EWS and LIG categories, but the supplied announcement did not specify the income thresholds, eligibility documentation or lending criteria that will govern access to the loans.
Affordable housing finance remains closely tied to the ability of lower-income households to purchase homes in locations where land and construction costs are within reach. By covering urban and peri-urban areas, the financing is aimed at households seeking ownership opportunities across different parts of India’s urban system. The announcement did not state whether the loans would support only newly constructed homes or also other forms of eligible home acquisition.
JICA’s loan is part of a broader financing arrangement rather than a standalone lending programme. The participation of ADB and MUFG Bank indicates that the project will combine development finance and private institutional funding, with IIFL Home Finance responsible for on-lending the proceeds to borrowers.
IIFL Home Finance and its financing partners are expected to take forward the lending programme under the terms of the agreement. Further details on disbursement, borrower eligibility, loan pricing and the number of women expected to benefit were not included in the announcement.
