US expo to tap into multi-billion shilling Diaspora market

Kenya: The first international homes expo targeting thousands of Kenyans living in the Diaspora will be held in US at the end of this month. King’s Pride Properties, Nairobi-based real estate developer, is organising the first annual Kenyan Diaspora Homes Expo to tap into the Sh109 billion Kenyans in the diaspora remit home.

Martha Kanyumba, the Expo Director at Kings Pride Properties said the three-day expo scheduled for August 30 to September 1, 2014 will be held in New Jersey Exposition Centre, New York.

“The expo is expected to draw at least 300,000 Kenyans living in the United States, linking them directly with the real estate market back home. This is while opening up international frontiers to stakeholders in Kenya’s property sector,” said Ms Kanyumba.

The expo will be officiated by the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and international trade, Amina Mohammed. According to a June 2014 survey by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenyans living in the United States account for 45 per cent of the total diaspora remittance. However, those willing to invest in the property market back home face various impediments, for example, lack of information to make sound investment decisions.

The expo, Kanyumba said will be a one-stop-shop providing Kenyans seeking to invest back home with access to key stakeholders offering products tailored to meet their needs.

“Kenyans abroad find it difficult and expensive to successfully invest in property back home,” she stated. She added, “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.”

The property exhibition 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 gaining access to the diaspora market. Among the exhibitors are National Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, CIC Insurance Group and leading real estate franchise RE/MAX. —Nicholas Waitathu