Across South-Eastern and Southern Europe, a quiet housing revolution is unfolding. In the context of a tiny percentage of social housing, communities are writing a transformative housing narrative—built not by developers, but by people through cooperatives. Stories of the two pioneering initiatives, MOBA Housing SCE and Sostre Cívic, are proving that community-led housing is a thriving reality.
Breaking Financial Barriers: Financing Emerging Community-led Housing in Southern and Eastern Europe and the Balkans
Thursday, June 5, 2025
3:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Liffey Meeting Room 2B
PARTICIPANTS:
Adél Csűrök, ACRED/MOBA Housing SCE
Ander Zabala Gómez, Sostre Civíc, Economic management and finance
Goran Jeras, Cooperative for Ethical Financing, Manager
María Sigüenza, Council of Europe Development Bank, Country Manager
MODERATOR:
Ana Džokić, MOBA Housing SCE, Management Board Member
This session will address recent developments in the field of affordable financing dedicated to community-led housing (CLH) in Europe. Recently, Sostre Civic, a Catalonian co-operative housing developer, has received a CoEB loan, the first of its kind to CLH organisations, which constitutes a significant stepping stone for pushing the sector. In Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, MOBA Housing SCE is setting up the Accelerator revolving fund, and its inaugural use will be a co-financing of a student cooperative housing project in Budapest.
By revisiting these initiatives two years after ISHF Barcelona, this session will provide updates on the exciting developments of both organisations, and perspectives for the broader landscape of CLH in South, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The different stages of maturity of these initiatives will provide the background against which we will be discussing mechanisms for funding CLH projects across Europe, both with institutional financial organisations and the cooperative finance sector.
Despite differing contexts, both initiatives share a vision: housing as a right, not a commodity. As their influence grows, MOBA and Sostre Cívic are weaving a tapestry of hope and practical solutions across the region. From Barcelona to Budapest, Belgrade or Zagreb, their efforts signal the rise of a movement driven by cooperation, empowerment, and collective futures.
ALSO FIND US AT:
June 4: Building Impact Networks: The Power of Communities
June 5: Building Impact Stories: Stories of Life-Changing Homes
June 5: Vacant Buildings to Affordable Homes – A multi-stakeholder approach to address the housing crisis