West Africa Property Summit ends today, Nov. 19

The West Africa Property Investment Summit (WAPI Summit) is taking place at the new Kempinski Hotel in Accra, this November 18 to 19, 2015.

The Summit seeks to address some of the key issues on funding of property development in West Africa.

The creators of the widely known Africa Property Investment Summit and EAST Africa Property Investment Summit, Terrace Africa, will host the event. The event is to serve as link between industry players in the sub-region.

Adeniyi Adeleye, Head: Real Estate Finance, West Africa – Stanbic IBTC explains: “West Africa’s growing economies have resulted in an increased demand for quality developments across the real estate landscape.

Stanbic Bank is a proud sponsor of the West African Property Investment Summit and looks forward to meeting with key industry stakeholders, to discuss how we can accelerate the development of the region through partnerships with local and international developers. Standard Bank Group was voted the Best Overall Bank in Africa in the 2015 Euromoney Real Estate Survey Awards.

Similarly its subsidiaries in the key economic hubs, Ghana and Nigeria, were also voted the Best Banks in the same Euromoney survey. These accolades prove our commitment to driving Africa’s growth and our deep focus on impacting the real estate landscape in key regions. “

“West Africa has the largest single market and collectively, the second biggest market in Africa to tap into the juicy investments within the sub-region (where on a lighter note Accra is the gateway, Lagos the destination and Abidjan, the Paris of West Africa).

Broll has been serving the investor and occupier markets in West Africa for over 10 years now – since 2004 in Nigeria and 2006 in Ghana, offering services which include commercial broking and investment sales, corporate real estate services, facilities, property and project management, retail management, consulting and leasing, residential brokerage and management, research as well as valuation and advisory.” Kofi Ampong, MGhIS, CEO, Broll Ghana Ltd.

“There are unlimited opportunities (retail, residential, offices and to a lesser extent industrial parks) in the Francophone countries and the language barrier should not be a hindrance or obstacle. Investors should take the bull by the horn and venture into these “virgin’’ countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo, with no western style malls, particularly for retail investors.

Despite opportunities in the sub-region, barriers to entry remain slightly high. The major risk for developers and property investors is no longer political instability but rather, access to title deeds, to some extent, capital constraints and the procurement of building materials, in some instances lack of depth and quality of tenants and lastly, high rentals demanded by owners of these developments/properties. “ Kofi Ampong, MGhIS, CEO, Broll Ghana Ltd.

“Hotel real estate in West Africa is driven by solid underlying macro-economic and demographic drivers yet we have seen a slowdown recently due to the cool down in resource prices.

The medium term demand outlook is good and the supply cycle will accelerate with the increase in oil prices. The opening of the Kempinski Gold Coast here in Accra where this conference is being held is testament to confidence which investors have in the hotel sector in these markets”, from Xander Nijnens, Jones Lang Lasalle Sub-Saharan Africa, JLL.

“With the relative political stability of the core West African markets as a result of successful elections or conclusion of major conflicts, more international investors are considering investments in these markets particularly in the real estate space.

In Nigeria for instance, investments in core grade A office developments have led to an unprecedented situation where supply has surpassed demand. As a result, vacancies are expected to increase by 14-15% in the short to medium terms with landlords offering greater incentives for tenants with solid covenants.

However there are some foreseeable challenges in the economy due to decreasing commodity prices. To address this, governments are taking steps to boost investor confidence and curb corruptive practices that have undermined the ease of doing businesses.

Buhari’s anti-corruption measure such as the Treasury Single Account is seen as an incentive to encourage more foreign corporates entry into the market.” Chinwe Ajene-Sagna, Head of West Africa, Jones Lang Lasalle Sub-Saharan Africa, JLL.