The core tenets of economic and social development on the continent will be addressing the basic need for affordable housing, facilitating tertiary education through adequate student housing, and developing communities in co-living and retirement accommodation.
Shadrack Mella, the Lead Valuer for East Africa at JLL in Kenya, made this statement during the just finished Africa Property Investment (API) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. He claimed that African governments have come to terms with the fact that they cannot resolve these problems on their own, despite their significance and the crucial role they play in fostering an atmosphere in which the private sector may work with them to find solutions.
He said;
“However, more needs to be done; innovation is critical to delivering housing at scale. Policy needs to foster innovation, support capital and encourage sustainability.
“Africa’s demographic dividend presents an exceptional opportunity for real estate investors, who can take a long-term view of the sector and align their strategy and understanding of local fundamentals. In particular, the living sectors are well placed to leverage this opportunity, but almost every real estate sector stands to benefit from these fundamentals in Africa.”
Speaking on the residential market in Africa, Mella noted that in order to support this seismic growth, the built environment must adapt and grow.
In Africa, it needs to be at the forefront of solving the societal and environmental challenges that the ensuing population growth will bring,” he added.
The API Summit’s host, Kfir Rusin, spoke on the subject of “Africa Re-Set.”
“The way in which we live, work and play has been fundamentally re-set.
“This has transformed how occupiers utilize space; how we do business and how real estate investors are allocating capital. As we build back stronger, stakeholders across the real estate value chain have to deliver on a new set of principles driven by real returns, sustainability, resilience and affordability,” he said.
Industry leaders looked at how urbanization, new market dynamics, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles are shaping occupier demand, buyer pool, liquidity, and overall access to finance during the two-day event.
Best practices for facility management and real estate brokerage from Nigeria were emphasized, and the challenge of achieving net zero carbon emissions status and reducing power supplies were major debate issues.
A major commercial project, Trinity Towers, was showcased during the commercial real estate program. When Trinity Towers, the first three-tower structure in West Africa, was unveiled, Estatelinks and Knight Frank Nigeria gained praise.
The brokers recommended the thronging audience to invest by renting a space in this building, which is now under construction. The second day included a prop tech discussion, a hotel forum, and numerous networking opportunities to forge deeper business ties around Africa.
