As Ghana’s home market picks up, so is the demand from consumers for opulent interiors, but there are challenges.



The interior design market size was valued at $130.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $211.29 billion by 2032, according to global market research company, Market Research Future. In Ghana, in particular, Statista reports that revenue in the furniture market is estimated to be $431.30 million in 2024, and projected to experience an annual growth rate of 2.04% (CAGR 2024-2029).


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<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="821" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied-821x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62628" style="width:475px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied-821x1024.jpg 821w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied-241x300.jpg 241w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied-768x958.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied-1232x1536.jpg 1232w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Yaw-Appiah-Kubi-Image-supplied.jpg 1440w" sizes="(max-width: 821px) 100vw, 821px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Yaw Appiah Kubi (Image supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


“Ghana is currently at an exciting juncture. We are seeing new design concepts come to the forefront. There is a growing recognition of intrinsic elements, such as superior craftsmanship and exceptional materials,” says Pamela Michelle Aboagye, founder of Ms. Atkinson Interiors.



“I feel Ghana could be the leading luxury interior landmark. We have the resources, talent and craftsmanship to exceed all other countries. We are gradually being acknowledged and appreciated for our design ability.”



Mawuli Nii Mensah, CEO of Tema-based FBM Marble &amp; Granite that provides natural stone products, further attests to this.



“Our typical clientele encompasses a diverse range of individuals who share an appreciation for the transformative power of a beautifully designed home. Contrary to the perception that interior design is just for the affluent, everyone deserves a living space that is both opulent and reflects their style,” he says.



“While my portfolio includes clients with notable budgets, which grants me the freedom to prepare designs without constraints, my core philosophy is that beautiful homes should be accessible to everyone.”



The sector can also be considered crucial because, in many cases, it helps to increase the value of real estate. This, in turn, would have a knock-on effect on sectors like the furniture market.



A 2022 report from the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) states that the country’s real estate sector had become the fastest-growing sector with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% between 2016 and 2021. The development of residential spaces has been bolstered by both the government and the private sector, having increased to 5.86 million structures in 2021.



The luxury space in Ghana is also brimming with opportunities and Yaw Appiah Kubi, designer and creator of Yak Group, has taken full advantage of this.



“I have worked on several high-end projects including, Ridge Condos, Teflon Suites, Gyamfuaa Courts in the Ashanti Region, in addition to the resplendent Makers House Chapel, Embassy Gardens, Airport Hills, Lakeside Estate, Chain Homes, and many more luxurious apartments in Accra. Luxury consumers appreciate made-to-order experiences and exclusivity. Offering tailored services, limited editions, and immersive retail experiences can create a strong brand connection and customer fidelity,” he says.



Yak Decor, one of the portfolios in his group, is a luxury home interior design company in Ghana. With a 10-year journey in the dynamic world of interior design, Kubi prides himself on being a creator of bespoke furniture and a curator of luxurious interior and exterior furnishings.


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<figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="683" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-62627" style="width:340px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pamela-Michelle-Aboagye-Image-supplied.jpg 1366w" sizes="(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pamela Michelle Aboagye (Image supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


However, as attractive as real estate – and supporting sectors – is in Ghana, the current economic climate still presents challenges for businesses in the industry.



“The last few years’ recession has impacted every known industry and the interior design industry is without exception. Many projects have been put on hold, and the profitability and sales of many interior design businesses are going south,” says Kubi.



He has seen a decline of about 30% to 50% in revenues due to decreased consumer spending on non-essential items such as home furnishings and decor.



“I was also faced with increased competition from other similar businesses as they offered lower-priced goods and services to stay afloat in the market. This, again, has caused a dent in profit margins as I was compelled to compromise on our prices as well,” says Kubi.



Aboagye, of Ms. Atkinson Interiors, is, on the contrary, seeing a slightly different trend from Kubi.



“We have seen a 20% growth rate month-on-month in Q1, showing an understanding that, despite financial difficulties, people are choosing to invest in themselves and their homes. Some clients are conscious of their spending. I think that the goal should be to cater to everyone and educate our clients on the value of what we offer,” she says.



“With luxury interiors, the beauty lies in the durability and quality of our products. Everything is made to last, which means that while clients might feel like they are spending more, especially during an economic crisis, we are actually helping them make long-term investments in their homes.”



For Kubi, the current state of the economy as well as the increasing competition has led to a shift in strategy.



“In our recent board meeting, we concluded that we needed to find real estate investors, like developers who are planning long-term projects, because getting hired for these projects can fill in the gaps in our pipeline,” he says.



Aboagye has taken a different approach to protect her business and guarantee growth in these uncertain times.



“Businesses like mine require collaborations with other professionals, like architects and developers. Clients should allow interior designers to be involved from the early stages. Additionally, collaborating with personal shoppers and fashion stylists will help bring all design elements together. The public should also be educated on what interior designers offer,” says Aboagye.



For those looking to break into and thrive in the luxury interior design sector, she believes that ‘stickability’ is key for long-term growth.



&nbsp;“I think that we will continue to trend upward throughout 2024. Government-endorsed legislations like The Year of Return [in 2019] encouraged the diaspora community to return. We are continuing to see an upsurge in foreign investment and a demand for properties to meet a certain level of standards. There is a spotlight on Africa, and with this, I hope that we can see a boost in our economy and the opportunity for our people to spend and elevate our lifestyles,” says Aboagye.



Despite the increase in residential structures in the last decade, Ghana’s housing deficit is still around 1.8 million, according to the GIPC. The Ministry of Finance estimates that about 60% of Ghana’s urban population needs assistance in securing adequate homes.



However, this does present untapped opportunities for real estate entrepreneurs like Kofi Anku, who leads Pokuase Heights, a sustainably-built middle income housing development in Accra.



“We have over 200-unit townhouses which feature solar power, insulated walls and ceilings, biodigesters and water supply. Our two bed bungalows start from $42,000 whiles the three-bedroom shell homes go for $72,000. If you contrast this with the average home in the United States, which is $435,000 or the United Kingdom, which is $375,000, you realize just how much value you get with our homes,” says Anku.

Real estate agent showing new house to customers

Luxury Checks In: Ghana’s Real Estate Sector Sees Room For Improvement

For much of 2017, two of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, have struggled. Nigeria is only just stuttering out of a recession, while South Africa’s economy has just returned to stability following several quarters of turbulence. Against this background, there is a need to ponder the implications of such periods of economic turbulence for entrepreneurs in these countries.
I have always said that Africa is the business frontier of the future, the market that holds out the most promise for investors. However, in Nigeria, where the bulk of my business takes place, I have watched entrepreneurs struggle since our economy took a dip. I have seen promising businesses closed down. Some of these could have survived if there were avenues for entrepreneurs from different African states to exchange ideas and collaborate.
As an entrepreneur that operates a real estate business in Nigeria and South Africa, I have never found a more important moment to reflect on my own experience, and to highlight how a transnational collaborative platform can offer entrepreneurs from these two African economic powerhouses an opportunity for substantive engagement.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/investment-guide/2017/09/13/tech-can-close-gap-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How Tech Can Close The Gap In Africa</a>
I have come to appreciate the peculiarities of the Nigerian and South African business environments, with each presenting their own challenges and opportunities.
In Nigeria, I have to rely on wealthy individuals to pay the full sum on any of my buildings. Yet, in South Africa, anyone with a good credit rating can acquire a payment plan and get backing from a financial institution.
In Nigeria, the challenge of not having a reliable and standardized database system and inability of banks to offer a payment plan for clients makes it harder to trade a property. It also means that more Nigerians were willing to pay a full once-off sum.
The downside, however, is that when there is slow growth in the economy, fewer people buy properties. With a payment plan, there could be adjustments that allow them to continue the financing, or in the worst-case scenario where they cannot make payments, the bank repossesses. Either way, the entrepreneur’s business is never in serious jeopardy.
I feel that many businesses in Nigeria would’ve survived the country’s economic stutters if opportunities for a payment plan existed. Invictus Real Estate, for example, has like many other Nigerian businesses suffered the pinch of the time. The company had to rely on its energy offering, Invictus Energy, to weather the storm.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2018/01/19/nigeria-needs-new-national-carrier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Why Nigeria Needs A New National Carrier</a>
Meanwhile, uncertainties about the South African economy have led to a lack of confidence from entrepreneurs to start new ventures. But there is no entrepreneurship if one isn’t prepared to take some risks. What these periods of economic volatility emphasize is the need for a platform for entrepreneurs to cross-pollinate ideas and enrich each other’s perspective.
The transnational entrepreneurship collaboration would set the agenda for a promising Rwandan entrepreneur to learn about the resilience of their Nigerian counterpart; the Nigerian entrepreneur would be able to tap into the experience of their South African colleagues in attracting venture capitalists, and so on. Each would bring their knowledge, experiences and expertise to bear. With this, there is an opportunity for important ideas to be shared and joint ventures to happen. The Forbes Under 30 Summit in Israel in April introduced me to forward thinking young entrepreneurs. One in particular was interested in doing business in Nigeria, and we discussed establishing a joint venture. Unfortunately, we discovered that the Nigerian Central Bank had imposed restrictions on outbound dollar transactions, making it difficult for foreign firms to repatriate their profits.
This could have proven an end to our project until I suggested that there might be a way to establish the venture with my company in South Africa. But, if I had no registered company in South Africa, wouldn’t it have been an opportunity to pitch the venture with a South African who would also take into account my own interest? This would be some of the opportunities a transnational entrepreneurial collaboration would create.
The time to create a transnational collaborative platform for African entrepreneurs, one that provides a guided approach for sustained collaboration, is now.
This transnational collaboration would guarantee a broadening and enriching of the imagination of the African entrepreneur. It would free the African entrepreneur from the shackles of borders, time and space. It would redefine business for the African entrepreneur. &#8211; Written by Obinwanne Okeke

Tear Down Africa’s Walls

Donald Trump’s private real estate empire officially lost one of its most important tenants on Monday, when Nike <a href="https://news.nike.com/news/new-york-city-flagship-store-5th-avenue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it is closing its store at the president’s 6 East 57th Street property in New York City next spring in favor of a new location just a few blocks away. The announcement comes a year after commercial landlord SL Green disclosed that it had <a href="http://slgreen.com/news/342" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed a 15-year lease</a> with Nike at 650 Fifth Avenue.
Of all of the commercial properties in President Trump’s portfolio, the site known as Niketown is by far the largest occupied by a single tenant. With Nike leaving, the Trump Organization is left searching for a new identity at the marquee property, which Forbes estimates is worth $253 million.
The building comprises roughly 65,000 square feet of space just off of Fifth Avenue, in the middle of one of the most famous retail corridors in the world. But as Amazon and other e-commerce sites grab more business every year, the value of retail real estate in the neighborhood continues to fall. That Trump controls Niketown, which is just around the corner from Trump Tower, only further complicates things.
“I don’t know of any tenants that need that much space other than department stores,” said Eric Anton, a Manhattan real estate broker at the firm Marcus &amp; Millichap. “And I don’t think there are any expanding department stores. Maybe Harrods comes in and takes it. But any foreign group is going to be looked at as weird &#8211; you know, collusion or some kind of crazy Trump conspiracy theory.”
Domestic retailers might also look for other sites in a New York City borough where only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10% of the population</a> voted for Donald Trump. Tiffany’s, which owns the site next door to Niketown, said “post-election traffic disruptions” helped cause a 14% drop in sales during the 2016 holiday season.
Still, 6 East 57th Street remains in the heart of New York’s commercial district, which draws tourists from all over the world. “You’ve got the best retail on the planet within 100 feet in every direction,” Anton said. “Maybe you cherry-pick one of the tenants that’s coming out, you know. You’re definitely going to do a new facade. They’ll scrape that facade off and they’ll build something really interesting.”
A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.
Whatever the Trump Organization ends up doing, it won’t be under much pressure from lenders. The Trump Organization, which owns a ground lease on the space through 2079, recently paid off its debt on the property. The president’s business also owns office and retail space at Trump Tower. The largest tenant there is Gucci, according to a 2012 Securities and Exchange Commission <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/850779/000153949712000490/fwp.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a>, which has a lease that expires in 2026.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/billionaires/2017/10/18/donald-trumps-fortune-fell-600-million-one-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How Donald Trump&#8217;s Fortune Fell $600 Million In One Year</a>
Since the announcement of Nike’s new agreement with SL Green, many have speculated that the move out from the shadow of Trump Tower was at least in part driven by Trump’s divisive political rhetoric. Nike spokeswoman Ilana Finley declined to address whether politics played a role in the decision, saying that the company had been planning a move “for years.” The new space “gives us more opportunities to play with new concepts than we have now,” Finley said.
Two employees said that while Trump’s political rhetoric played a minor role in Nike’s decision to leave, the physical layout of the store was a bigger factor. “It is mostly due to space constraints, more than any political implications,” said one current Nike employee, who requested anonymity to speak about matters they weren’t authorized to discuss.
Another employee, who also requested anonymity, said that store designers at Nike “hated” working on displays there. “It’s just tight. It’s hard to do what we want to do there.” The employee said that being associated with Trump’s name was also “a factor, to some degree.”
Some former Nike employees, meanwhile, scoffed at the notion that Nike’s move was in part politically motivated. “We never did anything when I was there that was even remotely political,” said Ed Stair, a former vice president of real estate and store construction who worked for Nike for more than a decade.
Nike will close its current space sometime in March 2018, the company said. While the new store won’t open for another year after that, customers will still be able to shop at the company’s stores in the SoHo and Flatiron neighborhoods. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattdrange/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Matt Drange</a>, FORBES STAFF

Donald Trump’s Real Estate Business Losing One Of Its Most Important Tenants

In the quiet residential area of North Ridge, a four-acre piece of land is being developed into a 200-unit apartment complex. The development in Accra, Ghana, is part of a trend of new real estate projects springing out from previously abandoned parks.
“This is a very competitive market, there are not many people with a lot of disposable income, so the market for potential buyers is very small with everybody going after the same pot,” says Godwin Ofori, real estate agent at BCD Properties.
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Skyrocketing prices for properties is making people desperate to find bargains, says Ofori. Kelvin Nyame, the Co-Founder of meQasa, is hoping to ease their anguish.
meQasa is an online property listings site connecting buyers to more than 23,000 commercial and residential properties across Ghana.
“There are about 27 million people in Ghana and we look at how many people have the budget to rent the types of houses that are available for rent, or office spaces, then you look at people who have disposable income. We feel that the market is very small, so either you are number one or you are out of the game and to be number one you need to have three times the content that your competitors have,” says Nyame.
Nyame believes content is king.
“In the listings, we are the highest right now, and traffic wise we have closed the gap with our competitors. We are doing about 40,000 serious seekers with over 290,000 page views per month. More than half of the 40,000 are converting and what that means is that they are sending emails to our agents and calling our agents to enquire about our properties and we hope to grow this number by up to 50,000 to 60,000 by December,” he says.
Nyame came up with the idea, along with Rashad Seini and Kofi Amuasi, at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST).
“So the whole idea of MEST is to learn software and online business. The program is structured such that you do capstone projects and in the capstone projects you form teams with everybody. The idea is that by your final capstone project you will want to develop your idea into a business and meQasa was one of the last two projects we were thinking of making into a business. After analysing our expertise and our skill set we decided to go for meQasa.”
Nyame and his team had to adopt a lean strategy from the start.
“The market is very small but there were a lot of big players and we just had $90,000 seed investment from MEST to operate with for two years. So if you do the maths, you can only spend about $3,000 per month and this includes employee salaries, office space, marketing and product development, so we were very limited and everyone was after the same customers, so it was very tough.”
There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. At the end of 2015, meQasa secured a much-needed investment of $500,000 from Frontier Digital Ventures, a global venture capital firm headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nyame is using that cash injection to streamline the business.
“We started monetizing two months ago and we have what we call subscription for developers, so every developer has a fee they pay for a number of months with different bundles. We also have banner ads and also sell our newsletter. For agents, we have products that are customized as well and by 2017 there will be space for every agent that wants to list on the site.”
In just three years, meQasa gained a significant percentage of the property listings business, according to Nyame.
“The early days were tough. We did a lot of research but we made some assumptions. We tried models. As a business you want to look at how you can make money and some of the models didn’t work. One of the models was that we recruited agents who we called meQasa real estate agents. So basically we would give them some kind of resources and an ID card so they know that they work for us but they also have their own real estate business. The idea was to send them leads so that when they close the deal we share the commission but that didn’t work.”
“We also hired a meQasa agent relationship manager to manage the agents, which also didn’t work. We made a lot of mistakes by also looking at the US market and what will work over there, but again that is a very advanced market so it wouldn’t work here. Now we are looking more at emerging markets in Southeast Asia, who are not too far from us in terms of developments but they managed to find solutions.”
The company plans to expand to other African countries and Nyame hopes he’ll soon be the top player in the continent’s property game.

‘Either You Are Number One  Or You Are Out’

Kenya’s attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI) has no doubt been impressive in the past few years, buoyed by demand in consumer and real estate sectors.
East Africa’s largest economy for instance received an estimated $1.9 billion in FDI in 2015, a 65% climb from 2014, data by the African Development Bank (AfDB) shows, cementing its unique position among countries with no significant natural resources that are receiving significant FDI inflows targeted at their consumer-oriented sectors.
In its medium-term economic framework, Kenya actually aims to tap FDI proceeds to help boost its economic performance amid wobbly returns from agriculture that has for decades been its mainstay in terms of GDP contribution.
A new regulation sneaked through the East Africa nation’s Parliament requiring foreign companies to allocate 30% shareholdings in their operations in Kenya to local investors. This threatens to reverse gains in FDI attraction.
“It may be very expensive, if not impossible, for Kenyan individuals to purchase or invest at least 30 percent in a foreign company. The process of carrying out due diligence in a company in another jurisdiction to effect the share sale or allotment would not only be time consuming, but also expensive,” says a lobby of United States investors, the American Chamber of Commerce, in Kenya.
Investors who fail to comply with the fresh ownership rules will be slapped with a fine of KSh5 million ($50,000), so states clause 975(2b) of the Companies Act 2015 that was adopted last November.
“This requirement may do more harm than good to the Kenyan economy. To start with, this 30 percent rule flies in the face of Kenya’s goal of being a regional business hub. A major concern is the conflict between this rule and the fact that Kenya is a liberalized market economy which embraces the free-market ideology. This rule is a form of protectionism,” says Lois Musikali, a legal expert at the Nairobi-based Centre for Applied Research in Law and Policy (CARLP).
Several leading foreign firms, including Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Diageo, General Electric (GE), and Bharti Airtel, have operations in Kenya and authorities should strive to maintain a friendly and predictable business profile that would attract more investors.
“There are concerns that foreign companies will look elsewhere for an investment partner. It is also true that many Kenyans will find it almost impossible, in terms of cost, to acquire a 30 percent stake in a foreign company that wants to register in Kenya,” says Musikali, noting that the absence of guidelines for foreign companies on how or where to find these Kenyan citizens creates a loophole for rent seeking, whereby corrupt public officials could acquire stakes in foreign firms seeking registration in Kenya using taxpayers money thereby advancing crony capitalism.
These resentments are weighty and Kenya has no option but to expunge the regulations from its laws to prevent polarizing investment.
Kenya’s Attorney General Githu Muigai says the regulation will be repealed through the Finance Bill 2016 that is currently before Parliament.
“The clause was unilaterally inserted and does not reflect the investment policy of the Kenyan government. The rule will be repealed through the Finance Bill 2016 that is at the committee stage in Parliament,” he says.
Nonetheless it is baffling that the regulations were allowed to see the light of day because Kenya has previously unsuccessfully tried to introduce a local ownership rule in its telecoms industry after it emerged hat foreign firms were facing difficulties in securing local partners with the right expertise and financial muscle to support the business.
Under this rule foreign companies investing in the telecom sector were required to reserve at least 30% of their shareholding for local partners. This shareholding was reduced to 20% and eventually reviewed for discouraging foreign capital flows in the country.
Kenyan authorities must pull off this path or risk causing ripples among foreign investors given the realities of other outlier factors such as the prevailing global economic slowdown.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Kenya’s FDI will fall by nearly a quarter this year, thanks to declining inflows into hydrocarbons exploration and an adverse global economy. According to the latest IMF update on the Kenyan economy, FDI could fall by 23.7% to $981 million.

No Choice But To Drop Contentious Rule

The future is difficult to predict; perhaps the solution for entrepreneurs to stay afloat is to create it.
This is when high-growth asset classes, in the form of stocks, bonds and their cash equivalents, are something that entrepreneurs should enjoy having in their personal portfolios. They make it more comfortable for an entrepreneur to take risks. If an entrepreneur’s business venture fails, an asset class will act as a soft cushion for them to fall upon until they are able to rise again.
Real estate is a safe but overrated investment option. Even celebrities are given this clichéd investment option to safeguard their future. An advantage of real estate is you can choose whether to invest your money in commercial buildings, like office blocks, shopping centres and industrial buildings, or residential buildings, which includes apartments or houses, in the form of holiday houses or rental properties.
But, this is advice anyone can find on Google, or the first thing your financial adviser will tell you. The problem is some of these properties have an annual growth rate that is comparable to leaving your money in a savings account at the bank. Basically, any financial adviser who talks about property as a core investment is an amateur.
Successful African entrepreneurs need to spread their wings and invest in multiple asset classes.
Passive fund management is quickly taking over from active fund management, which charges high management fees, yet rarely outperforms the market. When you claim your money back, the money reflected on paper at the time of payment will be deducted to leave you an amount that will not make you smile.
Larry Fink, Founder of BlackRock, the largest global fund manager with $4.3 trillion in assets under management, noted an emerging trend of massive amounts of money that are flowing from active management to passive management.
Low-cost passive indexation fund managers are not yet popular, but they are the future, with undeniable value proposition. Entrepreneurs who want to secure their family’s future should consider passive asset managers, with guaranteed returns and the option to tailor your indices to those that are performing best in the market.
My advice is to consider becoming an angel investor of about 10 funds in start-ups, and small and medium-sized companies. They can be risky, hence the small percentage, but if you make it, the rewards are huge. This will also be an exciting experience for an entrepreneur to help other entrepreneurs grow, similar to what Peter Thiel did with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. It proved to be the best decision he made after co-founding PayPal with Elon Musk and Max Levchin.
Many billionaires become angel investors in start-ups around the world, from China to Germany, Kenya, the United States and India. They claim the experience is more rewarding than just trading on the stock exchange.
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia, is a small angel investor in Quora, which has built an online community of intellectuals. Steve Case, Founder of AOL, funded dozens of start-ups through his investment firm Revolution LLC, where he focuses on growing them.
Depending on how big your bank balance is, you may consider investing in art, antiques and vintage cars, like Aston Martin, which is one of the few cars on the planet to appreciate with time.
However, paintings and other vintage items, is a game only the rich can play. If you have really made it as an entrepreneur, it will suit you to have these types of items in your portfolio. China’s millionaire art collector, Li Guochang, is preserving his wealth this way.
If you don’t have piles of cash, you need not worry. As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to be it to start participating in asset classes to secure your financial future.

Become An Angel  To Avoid  Investor Demons

For many years, property has been a safe haven. It is an asset that guarantees appreciation over time. However, due to the investment amount required, many middle-class buyers are able to own only one property at a time – at most. More affluent people have the privilege of investing in more than one property, sometimes in several cities.
But thanks to the stock market, individuals are licensed to buy real estate shares, which are far more reasonable. However, there is a certain amount of risk attached, depending on the cycle of the property market.
Before I go into the real estate sector of the stock market, I want to look at property in Africa in general. Property can range from a house to an office, from retail to commercial space.
As African countries develop at a phenomenal rate, due to resource exploration, the need for property infrastructure has escalated. Africa, which was once a continent that investors shied away from, has become a rough diamond. More and more investors are attracted to the sub-Saharan reg-ion’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of more than 5%.
According to real estate agency RE/MAX: “There has been a massive shift towards encouraging foreign investment in Africa and the continent is on the move. Large businesses are seeing the potential that the continent is currently yielding and are eager to expand into the region and take full advantage of the opportunities.”
Furthermore, a McKinsey report states that the continent’s consumer-facing industries are expected to grow to $400 billion by 2020‚ representing Africa’s largest business opportunity. The rapid urbanization and the blossoming middle class in Africa are contributing to the success factors for retail. Modern shopping malls and office complexes are being built across sub-Saharan Africa.
Property investment is growing rapidly, particularly in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. It is attracting a lot of property developers, private equity funds and high-profile global investors. As a result, shopping malls are mushrooming in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.
South African retailers are also exploring the potential in the rest of Africa, with MTN, Shoprite, Woolworths, Game, Standard Bank and Pick n Pay moving north to expand their businesses.
Shoprite, which aims to have bet-ween 600 and 800 stores in Nigeria, partnered with the Resilient Property Income Fund to build 10 shopping malls in the West African nation in 2010. The deal was worth more than R1 billion ($100 million) and also involved Standard Bank and construction giant Group Five Holdings. Shoprite has also opened stores in Maputo, Matola, Chimoio and Beira in Mozambique.
Other retailers like Walmart-backed Massmart‚ Pick n Pay‚ Woolworths‚ Mr. Price‚ Foschini Group and Famous Brands are also expanding into Africa. Pick n Pay set the ball rolling after opening stores in Mozambique in 2011, and another five in Zambia.
Woolworths has a mixture of franchise, joint-venture and wholly owned stores in Africa. The company is negotiating to buy its franchise business in Botswana, which comprises 22 stores. Currently, Woolworths has a presence in 12 African countries, including South Africa.
As the hospitality sector reaches maturity in South Africa, many hotel groups are eyeing the rest of the continent, which seems to have a lack of quality hotels. Protea Hotels recently signed a deal that will see it moving into Rwanda. It is also building new hotels in Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda at a total cost of more than $100 million. Protea is planning to expand into at least three more countries within the next couple of years.
Research conducted in 2013 by the W Hospitality Group consultancy has reported that the companies leading the way are Hilton Worldwide, with 6,230 rooms in its African pipeline; Carlson Rezidor with 5,947 rooms; Accor with 5,165, and Marriott with 3,900.
Housing in Africa is a necessity, but nowadays the type of house takes precedence. Property owners are becoming more lavish and certain areas in the continent’s cities are appreciating exponentially.
Some of the properties in Lagos, Nig-
eria, which has a population of about 20 million people, are among the most expensive in the world. Two-bedroom flats cost more than $1 million in upmarket areas.
The most popular units fall within a price bracket of N20 million – N35 million ($124,000 – $218,000). Nigeria’s middle class, which makes up about 23% of the population, earns about N80,000 – N100,000 ($500 –$620) a month, according to a report by investment bank Renaissance Capital.
In addition, Nigeria’s construction and real estate sectors are growing at more than 10% and 12%, respectively, which is a big winner for local companies.
In Kenya, the economic recovery that started in 2003 influenced a
revival of real estate prices. At first, only the luxury market capital values were rising, but recent indicators show a resurgence in the lower middle-income segment.
After five years of stability, house prices are increasing significantly. According to real estate company Knight Frank, the Nairobi sales market can be divided into two. The first consists of the owner-occupier buyers, which dominate the KSh10 million – KSh20 million ($115,000 – $230,000) market, which is where most of the transactions occur. The second is the investors and speculators that operate above KSh20 million ($230,000), and are mostly wealthy individuals and institutions. Foreigners in Kenya can freely buy ‘commercial class’ land, which is land for income or revenue-making purposes.
JHI Real Estate has had to open several branches in Mozambique as the country experienced a strong demand for retail that reached the masses. It has other projects on the cards, including plans to transform downtown Maputo. The 380,000m² FACIM (Maputo International Trade Fair) development is located on prime land and will include retail stores, hotels, offices and a residential component.
With its picturesque islands, private investors are looking at buying residential properties in Mozambique as second homes. Prices range from $275,000 to $1 million, depending on the ocean view.
Now that I have given a brief outline on how development in Africa is becoming opulent, let us look at the property real estate shares on the stock market. Not forgetting the construction companies, for without them, there would be no property development.
When applying my technical analysis expertise and looking at property in the longer term, the construction sector, as I said recently on CNBC Africa, is my “new black”.
The Construction Index lost almost 60% of its value in the 2008 crash and has been struggling to replicate the same bullish momentum it had before. Instead, it has traded sideways over a five-year period. How-ever, recently, the index has breached the major resistance trend line that has kept the bear trend at bay for the past five years.
This is a significant move, which seems to have warmed the hearts of many investors who were reluctant at first to dabble in an industry marred by negativity and recurring bad earnings.
With the construction sector showing some green shoots, we expect the index to recover its previous losses and possibly repeat the bullish years of 2003 to 2008. In other words, current levels are very attractive, and this bullish call is a one- to five-year forecast – a buy-and-hold investment.
This call applies to the Real Estate Index as well. I have analyzed a few construction shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) below, which I find to be good long-term investments.
Group Five Holdings broke out of a five-year bear trend. I expect upside above 4,650cps to add further gains to the 6,200cps highs of 2008. However, a short-term retracement may be on the cards, thus presenting another buying/reloading opportunity.
Murray &amp; Roberts Holdings has recently broken out of a four-year bearish base, with potential upside to the prior high of 6,000cps.
Basil Read is gradually clawing back its previous losses. A move above 1,035cps looks attractive, with potential gains to 1,370cps. Upside beyond that level would end the five-year bear channel, with the target set at 1,830cps.
Besides the property and construction shares listed on the JSE, this industry is rebounding in Africa in general, driven by demand locally and internationally.
Property prices all over the world are bouncing back from lows and are likely to retest previous 2008 highs. It seems as if the burst of the real estate and construction bubble in 2008 is patching up and reflating, but hopefully in a more gradual and practical manner. Investors have hopefully learned from their previous mistakes.

Property industry shows some green shoots

Consider the following: a billion-dollar budget; 6,102 hectares of prime real estate in the capital of Africa’s largest market; an affiliation with the World Trade Center’s Association and a leading conglomerate with a history of success across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy. By combining these facts, one thing that can be inferred is a property development project of seismic proportions: The World Trade Center Abuja.
Born out of a vision to transform Nigeria’s urban landscape with elevated building designs, the real estate arm of the Churchgate Group, a conglomerate that operates in the industrial, trading and building sectors in Nigeria, has obtained the rights to build and operate a World Trade Center complex in the Nigerian capital. Located on Constitution Avenue, the major thoroughfare in the city’s CBD, the multi-purpose complex will consist of seven towers containing office buildings, shopping malls and 37 floors of luxury residential apartments.
Described by the group as the premier address for retail, office and residential spaces, the luxury residences, known as The World Trade Center Residences, will be housed in what the promoters have termed “the most iconic building in Nigeria”. The fully serviced apartments will have concierge services, underground parking, tennis and squash courts, fitness centers and outdoor swimming pools. In addition to the apartments, penthouses with views of the metropolis will also be for sale.
The group has appointed Fine &amp; Country, the luxury real estate marketing company, to market the 132 bespoke residences. Fine &amp; Country won the Bloomberg and Google International Property Award for Best International Real Estate Marketing Agency last year.
That a luxury project of such grand scale is being undertaken in Nigeria reveals a confidence in economic growth and the increased flow of private equity in and across the African continent. According to a recently published wealth report by Knight Frank and Citibank’s private banking division, the highest increases in the prices of luxury real estate occurred in Kenya—both in Nairobi and on the coastal fringes. With increases of 25% and 20%, these locations brushed aside competition from destinations including Miami, the emerging markets of Bali and Jakarta in Indonesia, and traditional heavyweight London, to rank first and second on the Prime International Residential Index in which Cape Town regularly features.
Also worthy of a mention is the fact that the report identifies Nigerians to be among the top five nationalities to watch with respect to the demand for luxury real estate. The market for luxury property developments in Nigeria seems to be maturing, which implies positive benefits in terms of the flow of capital and the multiplier effect on the economy.
Although much still needs to be done to sustain this growth, one thing is certain—a new dawn is spreading across the continent, and this is not lost on the local and global elite.

Tag: real estate

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