Real Estate Investment in Africa

The real estate sector in Africa is growing rapidly especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the factors that are contributing to the expansion of real estate include the high rate of urbanisation across the continent, number of businesses that are cropping up daily and the high rate of tourism due to the ideal features that Africa has to offer.

However, the rate of development across the continent has not been uniform despite the increase in the number of developers. The growing population in the continues to pose a challenge for development of real estate projects. Other factors that pose challenges for investors across the continent include access to financing, rising incomes, continued job growth and Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs). According to the World Bank statistics of 2016, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya are ranked as the most active jurisdictions in real estate development in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the development in these countries is seen to take place in the capital cities: Accra, Lagos and Nairobi respectively.

As the gateway to East Africa, Kenya continues to pose itself as an economic hub for the region. Nairobi is also emerging as a centre of excellence in technological innovations, development of oil fields and production of renewable energy. A great leader in real estate development is the famous Centum Investment Plc. Centum’s main objective in the real estate sector is to develop new urban meeting points across East Africa that represent investment grade assets of scale. Centum Investment has managed to plan attractive sites across the region and provide commercial incentives for investors to establish city shifting developments. Centum Investment managed to break ground for Kes.100 billion industrial park in Kilifi County which saw the company ranked as one of the top real estate developers in the country. The company’s biggest real estate development so far is the Two Rivers Mall that sits in Kiambu County. Real estate is seen as the safest form of investment and remains relatively attractive. The growth of the middle class in Kenya is bound to lead to an even increased demand for quality and aspirational real estate