Firstrand Limited, the South African financial services company, has announced plans to invest $250 million in funds in the West and South African real estate markets. The money is earmarked for projects in Angola, Ghana, and Nigeria.
The money was raised from the company’s investment banking arm to develop properties in West Africa. It will be used to supply the demand for first-rate commercial and retail property. According to the company director Michael O’Malley, economic output in the continent has “more than tripled” and the discovery of oil in Ghana is another reason Africa will likely be a prime spot for investor interest for industrial and office space in the near future.
Over time, the population of the continent is moving into urban areas as economic growth shifts to the cities. The shift in population brings with it increased demand for housing and retail services, which is good news for commercial investors looking for opportunities in first-rate commercial and industrial properties in major cities, including Accra, Abjua and Luanda.
Alan Wilson, the CFO of Westport, has gone on the record to state that Africa currently has the highest rate of urbanization in the world and that this migration, along with the continent’s growing middle class is reinforcing the need for quality office space and retail building in urban areas. He points to the city of Luanda as a prime example. It was built to accommodate a population of 300,000 and is currently home to over six million people.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting that the Nigerian economy will grow by 6.9 per cent. If the country is able to sustain that impressive rate, it will become the largest economy in Africa. The size of Nigeria’s population, its oil wealth, and strong economic growth add up to a market position that is very difficult to ignore.
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