From Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th October, Shelter Afrique hosted - in partnership with AFD  at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, an international conference entitled Formal rental housing in sub-Saharan Africa: opportunities to provide affordable housing for all. This conference - which we are calling ‘The African Rental Housing Conference’- provided an opportunity for a unique and timely discussion and debate around the impediments and opportunities to best develop a vibrant formal rental housing sector in sub-Saharan Africa. The African Rental Housing brought together local, national, and international speakers. It was attended by over 200 delegates - comprising primarily private sector developers and building professionals, parastatals and government officials (from housing ministries and ambassadors), private equity firms, financial institutions and international development finance agencies. Urbanization and slum formation are intertwined in a context of mal-functioning housing sector and increasing demand for decent housing. Rental housing is thus an important component that cannot be ignored in finding a solution to housing in Africa.