Local Roots to Global Roofs - Scaling Housing Innovation

This Capstone report provided strategic analysis and actionable recommendations to support the Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter (TCIS) of Habitat for Humanity International in strengthening the affordable housing ecosystem. Conducted by graduate students at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, the Capstone team's focus was on understanding how system-level dynamics enable or constrain the performance of Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs), the primary actors delivering housing solutions at the household level. The team drew on a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative analysis of ShelterTech accelerator firms globally, 15 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders across Mexico's housing ecosystem, and stakeholder mapping informed by the Social Value Investing (SVI) framework. All findings were structured into practical guidance as a stand alone playbook.

The team's qualitative analysis was organized around six Points of Interest: financing gaps, construction supply chain dynamics, cross-sector collaboration, ecosystem support organizations, policy and regulatory context, and the role of technology in housing accessibility. Across all six areas, findings converged on a common diagnosis: Mexico's affordable housing challenge is not primarily a resource shortage, but a coordination failure rooted in fragmented institutional relationships, misaligned incentives, and weak translation mechanisms between high-influence and high-interest actors.

The recommendations of the team were directed at three stakeholder groups: facilitators, funders, and implementers, and centered on building credibility pathways for promising SGBs, convening cross-sector coalitions around specific housing bottlenecks, strengthening ecosystem infrastructure, and deploying place-based engagement strategies tailored to Mexico's diverse urban and regional housing markets.