In mid-2019, Actis, a leading investor in growth markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, the real estate arm of one of India’s largest construction conglomerates, with a group presence in over 70 countries and with projects today across fifteen countries in Africa, created Mi Vida, an institutional homebuilder through a 12-billion-shilling joint venture.

The joint venture was formed with the sole purpose of building middle-income homes across Africa; a move aimed at solving today’s issues around quality, affordability, and delivery within the middle-income housing sector.

The project, which began with Mi Vida Homes in Kenya, was particularly well received in the country where affordable housing remains a challenge. Kenya has a housing demand of 200,000 units every year but the market can only deliver 50,000 units.

With the area of focus being the Sub-Saharan region, Mi Vida is a culmination of Actis and SPRE’s international expertise, brought together to provide quality affordable homes.

Investing in a home is an important life choice and that’s why Actis and Shapoorji promote confidence for those investor buyers who recognize the value of a good track record and the commitment to delivering real estate projects on time and to the highest standards.

The two have over 220 years of collective experience behind them, building iconic and award-winning properties globally. From palaces in Oman to high-rise offices, hotels, airports, and railway stations in China, India, and across Africa, Actis and SPRE have invested in and built over 20 million square meters of real estate.

Currently, Actis manages the largest real estate private equity fund focused on sub-Saharan Africa. Some of its real estate projects include Garden City mixed-use project encompassing retail and residential units in Kenya. The project includes the Garden City Mall, Garden City Residentials, and the Garden City Business Park. Other projects developed by the builder in Nairobi include The Junction Mall and the Nairobi Gate industrial park.

Like other Actis projects, Garden City has sustainability at its core and was the first mixed-use development in East Africa to gain LEED’s green certification. It was also awarded Vision 2030 status by the Kenyan Government in recognition of its economic growth impact shortly after breaking ground in July 2013.

Other Actis real estate projects in Africa include Heritage Place, a world-class development situated in Lagos’ commercial and retail area; and Nigeria’s world-class shopping destinations such as The Palms, Ikeja City Mall, Jabi Lake Mall, and Twin Lakes Mall.

These malls follow in the footsteps of other retail and office spaces developed by the builder: Accra Mall, One Airport Square, and The Exchange residential and retail property in Ghana; Capital Properties in Tanzania;  l’avenue, the first, large scale, institutional quality offering in Douala, Cameroon; Racegame, Maputo’s first A-grade shopping center in Mozambique; and York Commercial Park in Zambia.

While SPRE has developed 14 residential and 4 commercial projects in India, its joint venture with Actis for the development of Mi Vida marked a continuation of a journey for Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate in the sub-Saharan African Region.

Currently, there is a huge demand for affordable and middle-income homes in Africa. The current housing backlog in the continent accounts for at least 51 million units, with large variation across countries. Some countries in the sub-Saharan region such as Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa, have housing backlogs of at least 2 million units. This is part of the reason why Actis and SPRE serve to bridge the gap in the market and bring solutions to ensure the region’s growing population matches its infrastructure.

A look at the population growth in the region is a key trend for real estate development. According to the United Nations, by 2100 there will be four billion people in Africa, one billion of whom will live in Nigeria. In 2015, 42% of Africa was urban. By 2050, this figure will be 62%.

These stats show the urgent need for good-quality and affordable housing. The demand for housing units and office spaces and an extreme lack of supply has made cities such as Nairobi some of the most expensive markets with prime rents remaining awfully expensive.

Luckily, the long-term prospects of real estate investment in Sub-Saharan Africa are appealing thanks to industry giants such as Actis and SPRE. The two have developed more than 1 million square feet of real estate globally. In Kenya they bringing world class mixed-use developments that incorporate green spaces.  These features allow a symbiotic relationship that allows the best use of spaces while reducing the impact on the environment.

Building trust with clients continues to be the simplest solution to complex logistic challenges.

It is for this reason that Transmwami international limited has diversified transportation and provision of logistics to clients as well as the safety of their cargo.

With vast experience in the gas and petroleum mining industry, Transmwami international limited has the ability to guarantee comprehensive, high quality and safety of the client’s cargo.

Led by Kelvin Essoa, C.E.O, Transmwami international limited is able to employ professionalism in its operations.

Kelvin Essoa Nkoy offers support to the mining and logistics operations allowing the company to have an in depth knowledge of the needs of our customers thus developing a sense of urgency and precision.

With Essoa at the helm, Transmwami international limited is able to meet the requirements of the industry which range from; Improved quality and safety standards, good innovation towards the supply chain and compliance with the environmental, social and legal standards.

“Today’s business environment is fueled by trust,” says Kelvin Essoa Nkoy. “Through the years, trust and reliability are some of the pillars that dictate the operations of Transmwami International Limited that have allowed us to solve logistical challenge successfully,” he adds.

Among the services offered by Transmwami international limited include consultancy, transportation of engineering equipment’s and warehouse management.

Choosing Transmwami International Limited is beneficial to individuals and businesses seeking a comprehensive solution that is tailored to meet their logistics needs through innovation, high quality, offer safety and its cost saving.

• Absa has partnered with property developer Mi Vida to provide preferential mortgage benefits to prospective and existing customers, with an aim of making it easy for middle income families to buy quality homes.
• 25-year tenor is the longest repayment period in the market
• The units being financed will include 1, 2-and 3 bedroom apartments with prices ranging from Sh8.8 to 15.7 million.

Wednesday, 16 June, 2021… Absa Bank Kenya has introduced a 25-year mortgage facility targeting middle income families seeking affordable homes within Nairobi.

The proposition seeks to increase mortgage uptake by prospective homeowners, offering options towards home ownership such as construction loans and home loans for self-employed individuals (SMEs) with a dedicated a team of experts who will walk customers throughout every step of buying or constructing their dream home.

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Absa customers will also benefit from established partnerships with players in the home ownership value chain such as property developers, furnishing partners and home appliance partners, who will offer homeowners a wide range of benefits among them great discounts.

This was announced as the bank signed a financing partnership with Mi Vida Homes where customers will enjoy a discounted rate of 12.5% p.a with up to 90% financing.

Speaking during the signing of the Absa-Mi Vida partnership, Peter Mutua, Absa Bank Customer Network Director, urged both existing and prospective customers to invest in the lengthened payment period and low interest rates of the Absa – Mi Vida mortgage proposition to own their dream homes.

“As a truly African bank, we understand that home is where the heart is. This is why we have availed the Absa – Mi Vida mortgage facility to employed and self-employed customers, presenting a lifetime chance to own ready-to-move-in homes. As a bank, we believe in developing sustainable financing models for our customers, we are offering up to 90% financing within market rates, over a period of 25 years to service their loans,’’ says Mr. Mutua.

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The proposition is one of the bank’s contributions towards the government’s housing pillar under the Big 4 Agenda and aims to provide quality family homes with sociable amenities and green spaces that enhance quality of living spaces to potential homeowners.

“We have a team of dedicated experts that will walk the journey with customers using our financial and non-financial expertise to provide credible information, services and solutions throughout every step of acquiring their dream home.” adds Mr. Mutua.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Mr. Antony Kambiriri, Chief Financial Officer Mi Vida, said, “We are delighted to partner with Absa Bank Kenya as it brings us closer to our goal of addressing the shortage of middle-income housing in Kenya. There is a huge demand for affordable and middle-income homes and through this partnership, we will bridge the gap in this market to exceed customers’ expectations.”

Mi Vida’s project at Garden City, is a first of its kind with the development centred on green space and family living. Phase 1 at Garden City offers 1. 2- and 3-Bedroom Apartments. Launched in 2019, under construction and on course to be complete by March of 2022.

Besides the Mi Vida proposition, Absa’s mortgage flexible offers different options towards home ownership such as financing land purchases and disbursing construction loans as well as home loans for self-employed individuals.

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By the year 2050, the global population will likely reach nine (9) billion people. Due to household demand
and population growth, the world needs to build more than two billion new homes over the next 80 years
according to global research.
The distress is beyond the demand for new homes. Nations across the globe are becoming increasingly
concerned about the effects of climate change and people growing environmentally conscious, project
builders have implemented sustainable development practices in their real estate properties to promote
energy efficiency, minimize the impacts of global warming, and protect natural resources.
Due to advances in technology, green homes are gradually growing in popularity, and this is a step in the
right direction. If project builders do not adapt to the challenge of building sustainable homes, the
pressure on natural resources will be detrimental to the environment. Some of the resulting negative
impacts include loss of biodiversity and increased greenhouse gases.
Today, the need for more sustainable homes has also been expedited by contemporary homebuyers’
preferences. People want – and will pay more for – sustainable features such as energy-efficient
appliances, windows, and fittings alongside other features that improve their health and quality of life. It is
also worth noting that as younger generations are expected to enter the home buying market, they are
looking out for built-in eco-friendly and sustainable features.
In Kenya, Actis, the developer of the Garden City Residences, Mall, and Business Park, is committed to
green-building and sustainable projects. Garden City development is the first within Sub-Sahara Africa
rated under the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star multi-unit residential V1 tool that
promotes the design and construction of high-performance green residential developments.
For instance, the infrastructure uses robust water harvesting and recycling/reuse systems aimed at
reducing wastage and significantly reduce potable water consumption by up to 28 per cent. It also
incorporates a massive solar carport ideal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The sustainability aspects of the Garden City mixed-use development made it the first project of its kind in
East Africa to achieve a Gold rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – the
rating system developed by the US. Green Building Council for the design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighbourhoods.
At the heart of this green and sustainable development, there is the Mi Vida Homes, a Ksh 12 billion
shilling joint venture by Actis and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate. Mi Vida Homes holds significant
importance to the future of green homes in Kenya through the incorporation of more green space in
apartment developments and the development of amenities that meet family’s needs.
Mi Vida homes are certified by the International Finance Corporation “Excellence in Design for Greater
Efficiencies” (IFC EDGE), a green building standard and a certification system for over 140 countries.
EDGE helps to determine the most cost-effective options for designing green within a local climate
context. The project adheres to the IFC EDGE standard of 20 per cent less energy use, 20 per cent less
water use, and 20 per cent less embodied energy in materials when compared to a base case building.
The environmental benefits of green building in our contemporary society cannot be underestimated as it
enhances and protect biodiversity while improving the quality of water and air that we consume. Going
green will in the long run reduce waste streams while conserving and restoring our natural resources.

Author: Ciru Okobi – Commercial Director, Garden City

Motor distributor Toyota Kenya has launched the Urban Cruiser in the Kenyan market, the latest SUV in the Toyota Kenya product line-up that will start retailing from KES2.7 million inclusive of VAT.

Toyota Kenya Managing Director, Arvinder Reel said the Urban Cruiser, which is the youngest SUV in the Toyota family, embodies Toyota’s quality, durability, and reliability promise, with the vehicle designed for customers looking for SUV comfort, the latest technology at an affordable price point.

Arvinder Reel – Managing Director – Toyota Kenya Ltd.

“Toyota Kenya has always operated on the premise of giving our customers the best. And we as continue growing our small car segment offering, we continue introducing new and innovative products that offer value for money and will see more Kenyans drive brand-new vehicles,” said Mr Reel.

Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Toyota Kenya recorded a 4% share growth in the market, excluding truck and buses. “We are therefore optimistic that the small car segment will continue performing well as we progress in the year.”

The Urban Cruiser is an attractive SUV with a combination of design, performance and technology offering consumers the comfort and sophistication required from an SUV. It has a fuel-efficient and responsive engine that gives quick pick up on speed, the best technology that includes Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) – a further advancement of the ABS, and generous interior space including a luggage space of 328 litres and a 60/40 rear split.

To assist Kenyans to acquire the Urban Cruiser, Toyota Kenya has partnered with major financial institutions in Kenya that offer various financing options.

The Urban Cruiser will be available through Toyota Kenya’s network of branches and dealerships countrywide, with customers enjoying a 3 year/100,000 km manufacturer warranty. We endeavour to offer an unforgettable Toyota Kenya Experience through comprehensive After Sales support as well as the provision of genuine spare parts.

We would love to hear car enthusiasts argue out on which car rivals this.