About ECAHLI | Sustainable Communities, Governance & African Development
About ECAHLI

Building integrated communities. Creating shared prosperity.

ECAHLI is a development platform building sustainable, integrated ecosystems that combine housing, livelihoods, healthcare, education, and essential services into one coordinated platform.

We design and deploy complete communities, not speculative projects. Every ECAHLI Node is built around a 50-year governance horizon, anchored by the structure laid out on our Governance & Global Structure page, and operated with the discipline institutional partners expect.

Our Platform

What ECAHLI is.

A scalable platform for integrated community development — combining a proven model, disclosed governance, and African leadership.

Integrated ecosystems, not single projects

ECAHLI Nodes are designed as complete economic systems. Every development is planned to include housing, employment, education, healthcare, food production, clean energy, and community infrastructure in one coordinated design — not as isolated line items.

01
450+ modelled homes per flagship NodeAffordable, modern housing where families build equity and stability.
02
1,975+ modelled jobs per flagshipAgriculture, hospitality, healthcare, education, and energy roles embedded into community design.
03
On-site healthcare & wellnessDesigned to serve a modelled 15,000+ patients annually — preventive care and emergency response.
04
Regenerative agriculture & food securityA modelled 280+ formal farmers on certified, circular supply chains.
ECAHLI integrated community ecosystem, aerial view
The Problem We Address

Why ECAHLI exists.

Across Africa and Latin America, communities are too often left without stable housing, coordinated employment, healthcare, or long-term stewardship.

ECAHLI community building and belonging

The reality we're building against

Stable HousingInformal settlements leave families vulnerable. ECAHLI builds permanent, affordable communities.
Real EmploymentWithout coordinated economic systems, communities lack sustainable jobs. ECAHLI designs employment directly into each Node.
Quality HealthcareMany communities lack basic medical services. ECAHLI plans full healthcare infrastructure into every Node.
Education & SkillsWithout vocational training and professional development, young people cannot build futures. ECAHLI connects education to jobs.
Long-Term StewardshipMost development projects prioritize quick exits. ECAHLI is structured for a 50-year governance horizon.
Institutional Foundation

Governed for confidence, built for legacy.

ECAHLI operates with the structural discipline serious institutional partners require. The summary below is a starting point — full detail lives on the Governance & Global Structure page.

Dutch Stichting Structure

ECAHLI's mission is stewarded by the ECAHLI Foundation, a Dutch Stichting currently in the process of registration — designed for long-term governance, transparency, and stakeholder protection.

Board-Driven Governance

ECAHLI Global Holdings is governed by a 7-seat Board — 3 founding directors, 4 seats open to aligned institutional partners. See Team & Advisors for who sits on it.

Transparent Capital Structure

Defined fee structure and annual participation, tied to operational performance — disclosed to every stakeholder before they commit, not after.

Institutional Engagement

Active, disclosed engagement with DFIs and African development banks is underway. We name specific institutional partners only once a relationship is formally confirmed — not before.

Corporate Registration

ECAHLI Global Holdings (KE) Ltd
Reg. No. PVT-PQ1E2OM2

Africa HQ: The Oval, 1st Floor, Ring Road, Parklands, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 771 915 553

See the Full Structure

Legal entities, board composition, ownership mechanics, and governance documents are all disclosed in detail on the dedicated page.

Governance & Global Structure →
Strategic Base & Global Reach

Nairobi: the heart of African development.

ECAHLI is headquartered in Nairobi — Africa's leading financial and institutional hub — coordinating engagement with governments and partners across Africa and Latin America.

Why Nairobi matters

Nairobi reflects ECAHLI's commitment to African leadership, African capital relationships, and African market knowledge — built from the region, not imposed on it.

01
Institutional RelationshipsDirect lines to DFIs, African development banks, and government partners across the continent.
02
Operational InfrastructureZerik Security, logistics networks, and pan-African partnerships coordinated in-region.
03
Capital GatewayThe point where institutional investors connect to verified, deployable development opportunity.
ECAHLI African development, Nairobi strategic base
The Platform

What ECAHLI builds.

Six integrated systems designed to work together as one coordinated ecosystem, not six separate projects.

HOUSING

Premium Housing

A modelled 450+ homes per flagship Node — permanent structures where families build equity.

LIVELIHOODS

Integrated Employment

A modelled 1,975+ jobs across agriculture, hospitality, healthcare, education, and energy.

HEALTH

Healthcare Infrastructure

On-site medical facilities designed to serve a modelled 15,000+ patients annually.

SKILLS

Education & TVET

A modelled 200+ vocational students trained annually per Node.

AGRICULTURE

Regenerative Agriculture

A modelled 280+ formal farmers on certified, circular supply chains.

ENERGY

Clean Energy & Water

Off-grid renewable energy, water purification, and waste management per Node.

A Distinct Node Type

Rural Integration Nodes: bringing life back to abandoned towns.

Not every ECAHLI Node is built on undeveloped land. Rural Integration Nodes take a different approach entirely: repopulating and revitalizing rural towns and villages that industry and population have already left behind — restoring homes, employment, and purpose to places the wider economy has written off.

This model is currently planned across Spain (3 Rural Integration Town Nodes) and Italy (2 Rural Integration Town Nodes), alongside Spain's 3 standard Regional Nodes — part of ECAHLI's confirmed pre-development pipeline.

01
Saving Rural Infrastructure & HeritageRestoring housing, roads, and civic buildings already in place, rather than building from zero — protecting local heritage instead of letting it fall further into disrepair.
02
Rebuilding Local EconomiesBringing industry, jobs, and services back to towns that lost them — the same integrated housing-plus-livelihoods model ECAHLI applies everywhere, adapted to revival rather than new construction.
03
Relief for Overcrowded CitiesGiving people priced out of, or worn down by, dense urban centers a real alternative: a home, an industry to work in, and new opportunity in a rural setting built to support them.

More on Community Nodes & Ecosystems →

Abandoned Spanish town before ECAHLI Rural Integration Node Before
Same town revitalized as an ECAHLI Rural Integration Node After
Proof & Partnership

Why partners engage with ECAHLI.

Real, disclosed assets. Modelled returns. Institutional governance — figures below reflect internal modelling, not audited results.

50 Yr

Long-Term Vision

ECAHLI is structured around a 50-year governance horizon, not a quick-exit strategy.

$73–79M

Capital per Flagship

Flagship Nodes are modelled at $73–79M deployed CapEx — infrastructure-scale investment, not speculative real estate.

16.5%

Base Equity IRR

Canonical Kisumu base-case modelled equity IRR, before any climate finance or carbon credit uplift.

2.80×

Y5 DSCR

Year-5 Debt Service Coverage Ratio in the Kisumu base case model.

3.65×

MOIC

Modelled Money Multiple on Invested Capital at exit, Kisumu base case.

7

Board Seats

3 filled by founding directors, 4 open to aligned institutional partners.

All figures are internal modelling based on current assumptions and are not a forecast of actual results. No ECAHLI Node has yet completed a full operating cycle. Full models available to qualified investors on request.

Our Board

Leadership & governance.

ECAHLI is led by named directors with disclosed roles — full bios, open board seats, and advisory partners on the Team & Advisors page.

Petrus Van Der Merwe
Founder & CEO

Petrus Van Der Merwe

Founder and Lifelong Chair of ECAHLI Global Holdings. Author of seven-plus books, including the two-volume memoir What Silence Builds.

Lyeon Kowido
Director & Head of African Developments

Lyeon Kowido

President of Zerik Security LLC. Cross-sector expertise in security, energy, investment, and pan-African enterprise.

Avery Byron Lillard
Vice Chairman & COO

Avery Byron Lillard

US-based operations director managing supply chain, logistics, and international partnerships across ECAHLI's footprint.

Meet the Full Team & Advisors →

The Opportunity

Join ECAHLI. Build sustainable futures.

ECAHLI is seeking institutional investors, strategic collaborators, and aligned leaders ready to build at scale. Board seats are limited. Early-stage positions are limited further still.