Property Technology or “Proptech” as is more commonly known, is the latest tech trend today in the world of real estate and property. The space has accelerated in the last couple of years and is currently seen as a great tool for real estate specialists and property owners keen on using technology to solve specific problems in the property space.
Although proptech is big in most western markets, Africa is not left out as some startups and companies are looking to capitalize on property opportunities in the region.
To get more insights about the proptech market in Africa, we spoke to Dapo Runsewe, a Senior Research Analyst at Estate Intel, a data platform for organizations interacting with the real estate and construction industry in Africa. Estate Intel officially launched in Ghana in 2019 and has bases in Nigeria and Kenya.
We asked Dapo about the proptech space in Africa, current trends, and its plans for Ghana.
How big is the proptech space?
According to Dapo, there were less than 15 proptech companies operating in the African region in 2017. As of 2022, the space has grown to an estimated 50 proptech companies which specialize in listings, financing, and investments. This has led to more investor interest and funding of proptech startups in the space in Africa.
Is PropTech focused on just listings?
Although proptech tech startups which deal in listings are currently the most popular, there are other areas that other proptech companies specialize in.
There are also investment proptech companies that help users to invest in real estate using just their smartphones.
Other proptechs are into flexible living like Spleet Africa which helps you make payments in different capacities like monthly payments.
There are proptech startups that provide financing and loans which help renters to pay their rent and pay back at a specified time period.
And finally, there are proptech companies like Estate Intel which deal in data analytics and offer analytics for their clients.
Proptech Is Growing Steadily With New Funding
According to Dapo, there has been new funding to the tune of $60 million into the proptech space in Africa, with most investments going to proptech companies focused on listings.
In Morocco, a proptech company named Mubawab raised close to $10 million in funding to accelerate its expansion.
In Egypt, Nawy raised $5 million to also support the expansion of its product offerings.
There is also investor interest in community management proptechs that help improve tenant experience and also provide payment services. Rent4Less in Nigeria raised $1 Million in Nigeria with such product offerings.
Estate Intel also recently raised $500,000 in pre-seed and released a public beta of their product, Vesper, an automated real estate advisor that uses data to help the average African invest in property through quick property value estimates and accurate data to guide personal property investment.
Trends In Ghana
When asked about what trends they’re currently seeing, Dapo stated that luxury development in Ghana trending upwards, especially with buildings like the Signature and Villagio being the biggest names.
But he did point out that 70% of new projects are currently on hold because of high inflation in Ghana which is currently at 33% and the cedi currency depreciation against the dollar which at the time of writing stands at $1 to 10 GHC.
However, retail, industrial and residential investments are still coming in with high demand, especially in the industrial space.
Dapo stated that the capital city Accra is an ideal choice for investors especially because the country is relatively stable and is very tourist friendly.
Estate Intel hasn’t formally launched in Ghana as of yet but they operate in the country and monitor data and outlook.
The interview was conducted with Dapo Runsew, a Senior Research Analyst at Estate Intel. Estate Intel is a data platform for organizations interacting with the real estate and construction industry in Africa
Estate Intel will be on stage at the upcoming Tech In Ghana conference happening at the Accra Digital Center on 29th and 30th November. There will be a general discussion on PropTech in Ghana, Africa, and the world.
You can register for the event here
