Meet Our Team
CHERNO M. NJIE – President
Songhai Development Company, LLC
Cherno Njie formed Austin-based Songhai Development Company, LLC, a multi-family housing development and consulting firm, in 2001 after a decade of working for the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), the second largest tax credit allocation program in the nation. Under his leadership, TDHCA put $1.2 billion of equity into the state’s affordable housing market, funded over 40 projects annually and produced more than 70,000 multi-family housing units for Texas residents in rural, urban and suburban communities.
Songhai Development specializes in leveraging public and private investments to develop affordable housing through the use of federal tax credits and private activity bonds. Mr. Njie uses his 20 years of multi-family housing finance and development experience to manage Songhai Development’s portfolio of properties and projects across the state of Texas.
Mr. Njie has extensive experience working with developers, investors, general contractors, lenders, and local municipalities. His ability to structure complex housing projects to enhance long-term financial viability of communities while maintaining compliance standards and cost schedules has made Songhai Development a go-to consulting firm for delivering quality, affordable housing. Mr. Njie oversees the entire development process, nimbly transitioning from owner to developer, which gives partners and clients access to a full spectrum of services from submission of tax credit applications, project design permitting, financing, construction, cost certification, contract negotiation, and management of general partnerships.
He is a national speaker on a variety of housing finance topics, such as tax credits, underwriting guidelines and compliance. Mr. Njie is a member of the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Mr. Njie also serves as president of Songhai Development’s sister company, CMB Construction, LLC.
Fatou Jagne – Vice President, and Development Manager
Songhai Development Company, LLC
Ms. Jagne is the Vice President of Songhai Development Company, LLC, and the developer of Chelsea Seniors since 2010. During this period, she played a key role in the development, deployment, and ongoing operation of this project. Additionally, she was an integral part of the development team for the construction, lease-up, and placement into service of North Court Villas, an HTC Multifamily project in Frisco, Texas.
She has experience in the Tax Credit Program.