Kenyan real estate US expo to tap into multi-billion shilling diaspora market

- King’s Pride Properties, a leading Nairobi-based real estate developer, is set to launch the first annual Kenyans Diaspora Homes Expo in New York in a bid to tap into the $1.29 billion (Ksh109 bn) that Kenyans in the diaspora remit home annually.

The three-day expo scheduled for 30^th August to 1^st September at the New Jersey Exposition Centre, New York, is expected to draw at least 300,000 Kenyans living in the United States, linking them directly with the real estate market back home while opening up international frontiers to stakeholders in Kenya’s property sector.

Kenyans living in the United States account for 45 per cent of the total diaspora remittance, according to a June 2014 survey by the Central Bank of Kenya.  However, those willing to invest in the property market back home face various impediments, the most prominent being the lack of information to make sound investment decisions. The expo will therefore be a one-stop-shop providing Kenyans seeking to invest back home with access to key stakeholders in Kenya offering products tailored to meet their needs.

“Kenyans abroad find it difficult and expensive to successfully invest in property back home. The Kenyans Diaspora Homes Expo seeks to erase these obstacles by providing a platform for the Diaspora to engage with exhibitors on the real estate investment opportunities available in Kenya. Through the exhibition we address the frustrations that come with making property investment decision and monitoring investments from another continent by giving the diaspora first hand access to exhibitors, some of whom will offer them opportunities in the form of joint ventures,” said Martha Kanyumba, the Expo Director at Kings Pride Properties.

The Kenyans Diaspora Homes Expo will showcase a number of affordable investment opportunities available for Kenyans through partnerships. The expo has attracted 20 investment companies, seven financial institutions, insurance providers and a host of developers keen on a gaining access to the diaspora market that is already bringing in the largest piece of Kenya’s GDP pie. Among the exhibitors are National Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, CIC Insurance Group and leading real estate franchise RE/MAX.

There is also an expo office already set up in the US to enable investors follow up on the new products and services available in Kenya. This way, the expo office also provides a platform for financial institutions, both Kenyan and US based to access the diaspora market.

The government has also renewed its interest in Kenyans in the diaspora with the most recent effort being an office established for diaspora issues, a move applauded as aiding investment back home. On hand at the expo will be representatives from the Ministry of Lands to help with searches in a bid to reduce instances of fraud. The expo will be officiated by the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Amina Mohammed.

The Kenyans Diaspora Homes Expo will coincide with the US Labour Day weekend in August. There will be a cocktail for the exhibitors, VIPs and the diaspora on the opening day of the expo and a Kenya Gala Night on the final day.

The first of its kind, the expo is also expected to take place in the United Kingdom in 2015 as part of Kings Pride Properties’ plans to include as many Kenyans as possible in the expansion of the economy through diaspora remittance.

Kings Pride Properties has been in real estate for 12 years, and in construction for eight years offering solutions for mixed use property developments from local urban nodes to large scale new city developments throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The company has engaged in the development and management of prime property in Kenya including Windsor Homes, Telagen Gardens and the Junction Park. Kings Pride Properties is also part of the broker network of RE/MAX Kenya, a franchise of RE/MAX, LLC.