Willem Odendaal, Technical Specialist

Willem Odendaal is a Technical Specialist and is responsible for the initial assessment of new business opportunities in the affordable housing market in South Africa for International Housing Solutions (IHS).

Prior to joining IHS, Mr. Odendaal was with the Gauteng Department of Housing. He was involved in the implementation of the low cost housing program of the Government of the Republic of South Africa in the Gauteng Province. One of the most successful mixed income and mixed tenure housing projects in the RSA, the Cosmos City project, was facilitated and implemented by a unit under his supervision.

This project was planned to accommodate 12,000 residential units, approximately 40% of which were fully subsidized units, 33% were partially subsidized, and 25% were market rate. A number of new policies and processes to accelerate housing delivery were initiated and implemented by him which enabled Gauteng to be the leader in the delivery of low cost housing in South Africa.

He was also the provincial project manager of the Katorus Urban Renewal Project. He was promoted to Deputy Director-General in the Gauteng Department of Housing with the portfolio of Chief Operations Officer, a position that afforded him extensive experience in inter-governmental relations and the implementation of housing projects within the governmental environment.