From the sixth floor of his office located at New Rehema House, Westlands, Daniel Agili Ojijo has a good view of one of the city’s richest districts. Buildings— commercial and residential — are at various stages of construction. Others are already complete and ready for occupation.
They portend a windfall for the founder and CEO of Homes Universal, a leading real estate consortum in the country. “Somebody will need to manage these,” he says with a broad smile.
Make no mistake. This is not wishful for a man who has been in the business of developing, selling and managing large projects over the years. But things were a bit different a little over two decades ago.
Back then, Ojijo went scouting for a new home. For hours on end, he combed his preferred neighbourhood without success. The exercise was tedious. “There must be an easier way of looking for a house,” he said to himself.
Revelation
And an easier way there was. Ojijo called a housing agent who, at a fee of Sh5,000, showed him a house that fit his needs. At the time, agents were looked down on as people who were only interested in getting a few coins from prospective home owners without much service delivery.
Were it not for that personal experience, perhaps Ojijo would not have ventured into the dynamic world of real estate where he has become a household name.
“People were laughing at them, calling them ‘briefcase agents.’ But this particular one was driving a Peugeot 504, a highly prized car back then. He had even employed other agents whom he was giving a 30 per cent commission. He was obviously making money,” says Ojijo.
To Ojijo’s surprise this particular agent invited him to become a freelance real estate agent with a promise to increase his commission over and above that enjoyed by the other agents. But the allure of an ‘easy’ side hustle in the real estate sector also took him down an unbeaten path. He was hardly prepared for a career that has shaped his daily life for two decades.
Ojijo did his A-Levels at Nairobi School before joining Egerton University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and mathematics.
His first employer was the Government through the Ministry of Science and Technology’s department of Patents and Trademarks.
But with his appetite for a career in the real estate sector aroused by his realtor friend earlier, Ojijo opted out of Government employment in the mid 1990s and joined Imperial Shelter, then a real estate management company.
It is here that he started out as an agent, rising to become the property director within a short while.
Acquiring the experience he greatly needed, his eyes were now set on starting out on his own.
“In 2000, I took over Villa Care, a company that was almost closing. Back then, such companies would wait for clients to call them. There was no marketing. However, my intent was to turn the company’s fortunes around to become a leading authority in the market,” he says.
Villa Care is now one of the leading realtor firms in the market handling properties worth billions of shillings. These range from top notch commercial buildings to some of the country’s high-end residential properties.
And Homes Universal has grown into a consortium with several subsidiaries to boot.
Companies
Homes Kenya Limited is the group’s in-house publishing arm that produces a bi-monthly magazine by the same name. Sigimo Enterprises is a development company angling for a slice of the vibrant construction pie. Mentor Holdings is a project management company and HomeFix offers building and construction services.
Others are Nairobi Best Homes, a real estate consulting agent for exclusive estates; Kenya Interiors, an interior design company; International Valuers and Windsor Homes Limited.
“With about 200 employees, Homes Universal has created thousands of other jobs indirectly through payments made to our suppliers and manufacturers. All this growth is being driven by youthful vigour as well as our ability to adopt new technologies in the field,” Ojijo states.
Ojijo’s story is not complete without mentioning his other brainchild – The Kenya Homes Expo — whose 22nd edition kicks off today and closes on Sunday, October 25 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Like his other creations, the expo has grown over the years since its humble beginnings in 2005 and now attracts over 40,000 buyers over a period of four days. The current edition has already secured over 200 exhibitors drawn from the real estate, finance, interior décor and design, building and construction industries.
This year, the expo welcomes the global Chinese manufacturing firm Avic International, which will be making its inaugural entry into the local real estate market.
“The Homes Expo is held twice every year in order to keep up with the ever-evolving trends in the industry. Over the years, the organisers have managed to harness the most innovative exhibitors offering products and services that meet all the emerging needs in the real estate industry. In addition, it provides individuals and corporates the opportunity to develop robust perspectives, network, gain business deals and contacts,” says Ojijo.
Support
But as Ojijo argues, the authorities need to do more to support the sector that is currently reeling under the pressure of increased interest rates. He is of the opinion that a revolving fund should be set up where developers can borrow at a one-digit interest rate and construct affordable homes for the masses in our urban areas.
The Government, he adds, should then consider giving tax holidays to developers building affordable houses for the lower segment of the market. He says the Government has scored poorly when it comes to providing the prerequisite infrastructure in areas where home developments are earmarked.
According to him, this puts a heavy financial load on the developer who has to use a portion of his resources to set up infrastructure. “Where is the rationale behind the individual purchase of a transformer that then becomes the property of the state, yet, by our very developments, we are creating life customers for the power providers?” he poses.
Despite the successes, the “accidental realtor” is not about to slow down. “We are just scratching the surface. The fact that there are a number of players in the business means there is some money to be made. You just need to persevere and employ unique methods that resonate with the industry,” he says.
While Ojijo’s career in the scientific world fell by the wayside, it is obvious that his chemistry with real estate is holding strong.
