* Documents the radical changes in methodology of one Northern NGO (Homeless International) over twenty years of providing support to organizations of the urban poor across the globe.

* Present extensive excerpts from conventional small-scale grants to collaborative design of new financial products – in so that other agencies may build on the lessons learned.

As poverty becomes increasingly concentrated in urban areas of the developing world, the need to access new sources of finance for slum upgrading, resettlement, and infrastructure provision becomes correspondingly acute. This is particularly so for organizations of the urban poor as they enter into collaborative arrangements with the state, and with the private sector.

Starting from conventional small-scale grant giving to nascent NGOs in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Homeless International has broadened its methodology to include collaborative design of new financial products including an international guarantee fund that provides loan capital for bridge financing large-scale developments which are prioritised, designed, and managed by organizations of the urban poor.

This book is packed with illustrations of lessons learned by Homeless International so that others can build on these in order to create a wider collaborative capacity to bridge finance gaps.

Table of Contents:

1) Introduction—Ruth McLeod and Kim Mullard; 2) Homeless International’s involvement in urban development finance—Kim Mullard; 3) Building community foundations—Becky Telford; 4) Taking risks—Ruth McLeod; 4) A continuum of financial services—Ruth McLeod; 6) Guarantees of success?—Malcolm Jack; 7) The community-led infrastructure finance facility—Ian Morris; 8) ‘This house believes that the private finance market will never fund major slum upgrading’—Ruth McLeod and Dave Hughes; 9) Working with government—Kim Mullard; 10) Reflections—Homing in on Homeless International—Malcolm Jack.