Company sponsors expo again

East African Portland Cement, which is among the sponsors of the bi-annual Kenya Homes Expo, has signed an agreement to sponsor two editions of the expo next year, writes ALLAN OLINGO

The Kenya Homes Expo has signed a Sh8 million sponsorship funding with the East African Portland Cement for the coming two editions of the Kenya Homes Expo next year.

Speaking during the signing of the agreement at the annual cocktail dinner organised by the HomesKenya magazine on Tuesday last week, the Managing Director of East African Portland Cement Company Kephar Tande announced that East African Portland Cement, through their flagship cement Blue Triangle Cement, would be sponsoring the Kenya Homes Expo for another year at a cost of Sh8 million.

"We are delighted at the opportunities that we got in our last sponsorship agreement with HomesKenya magazines, the organisers of the expo. This has made us sign for another year as the sponsors of the 2012 Kenya Homes Expos," said Tande.

Tande and Daniel Ojijo, the chairman of Mentor Holdings, the parent company of HomesKenya magazines signed a memorandum of understanding document outlining their partnership.

Housing deficits

Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development Njeru Githae, who graced the event, heralded the growth of the real estate industry and the role of homes expos in the development of the sector.

Said Githae: "We need to ensure housing and real estate in Nairobi is available and affordable to all. Developers should focus on lower income housing in the coming year to ensure the Government is able to meet the housing deficits."

Githae challenged developers to take the urbanisation opportunities in Nairobi and especially the growth of infrastructure.

"The Government is opening up various growth opportunities, especially with the construction of the bypasses. It is, therefore, important to open up real estate development in these areas to decongest Nairobi," said Githae.

HomesKenya organised the cocktail event in honour of their clients who included the Kenya Homes Expo exhibitors, its magazine advertisers and top industry players and stakeholders in the real estate sector.

"HomesKenya holds a cocktail event every year with the aim of bringing top industry players in real estate market for an informal networking session, but also to appreciate their clients for working together in the course of the year," said Ojijo.

Ojijo reiterated his vision and his passion in ensuring that housing and real estate development was ongoing in the country and beneficial to all.

"We should all work together in making affordable and quality housing a dream come true for all Kenyans. As the Kenya Homes Expo, we will strive to ensure that we offer the best opportunities for all the players in this industry to meet the demands and expectations of Kenyans," said Ojijo.

Exorbitant prices

The Head of mortgages and assets at Barclays Bank David Thuku spoke about the position of Barclays Bank on mortgages.

"While the interest rates have slightly increased to 16.99 per cent after the latest Central Bank of Kenya increase in bank lending rates, we are still confident that we are still giving Kenyans a good deal," said Thuku.

Other speakers at the cocktail event included the Assistant Manager Specialty Business CIC Group Ltd Robert Murigi, Flamingo Tiles Ltd Financial Controller V V Shreedar, and the Investments Director Mentor Holdings and developer at Windsor Homes Major (RTD) David Karau.

Jimnah Mbaru, the Chief Executive Officer of Dyer and Blair, urged developers to be keen on the middle income earners who have a passion to own houses, but are limited by the exorbitant housing prices that developers are charging.

"We have a lot of individuals who would love to own houses, but are limited by their cost. Kindly tap into these markets to be able to not only enhance the real estate growth but also get good returns," said Mbaru.

This year, the Kenya Homes Expo was sponsored by key corporate, including East African Portland Cement, Barclays Bank and Mentor Holdings. Other sponsors included CIC Group Ltd and Flamingo Tiles.