by Jewel Stephen
3Invest Ltd on Wednesday 27th August held a media conference to officially launch Real Estate Unite 2014—the International Business-to-Business event that convenes players from across Africa’s real estate industry. The annual event in its third year is scheduled to take place from 2nd – 3rd October 2014 at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel in Lagos.
Speaking at the press conference, Ruth Obih, Chief Executive Officer of 3Invest, said that with Nigeria’s rebased GDP, the sub-Saharan real estate market presents an attractive investment opportunity; a portfolio which currently accounts for about 7.6% of the nation’s GDP but can be as much as 40% if better mobilized.
“This is what we are seeking to do at this year’s event through the theme, ‘Igniting the F.I.R.E, where lies the key?” she said. “The theme represents key factors 3Invest has identified over the years as having the potential to catalyse the industry’s growth. The ‘F’ represents Finance, the ‘I’ represents Infrastructure, ‘R’ represents Red-Tapism while ‘E’ represents Education.”
Real Estate Unite 2014 will answer pertinent questions like how finance can be raised for building projects; why infrastructure investing should be addressed; how red-tapism can be eradicated from the housing sector; and what the way forward is for the education sector in terms of investing and security.
The event will be opened by His Excellency, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola with the keynote address. Also expected to keynote is the Honourable Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Confirmed speakers include Hakeem Ogunniran of UPDC; Simon Walley of World Bank; Kunle Osilaja of Ecobank; Hassan Usman Hassan of ASO Savings; Femi Adewole of Shelter Afrique; Prof Olumide Olusanya of Unilag; Dr. Chii Akporji of Ministry of Finance; and Mr Sonnie Ayere of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company; to name a few.
Speaking at the press gathering,Peter Bamkole, Director, EDC, Pan Atlantic University and Chairman of the Real Estate Unite Advisory Board highlighted the importance of the event to real estate saying, “Real estate is a major contributor to employment in the country. The more we are able to provide jobs, the less the likelihood that we are going to have uprisings.”
His statement was supported by Yemi Anyanechi, Managing Partner, Sefton Fross; who commended the innovative agenda developed by 3Invest Ltd in partnership with Sefton Fross for the event with input from the board while expressing support for this year’s event.
Obih went on to present new agenda items slated for the event with limited access roundtables on Housing Finance and Healthcare Real Estate. “As a forum that is responsive to growing trends in the industry, we knew it was time to bring to the forefront a new market opportunity when we were suddenly faced with the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Lagos and West Africa at large,” Obih added. “With the infrastructural challenges of providing medical services to the infected, exposed and others, I knew that at Real Estate Unite, we had to focus on healthcare real estate or simply put, the future of care from the real estate perspective.”
Further to this, Erejuwa Gbadebo, Managing Director of PD&I; who was also present, commended the responsiveness of the event to the recent ebola outbreak and offered her services as a real estate consultant in this regard. She also expressed excitement at the launch of A.W.I.R.E to promote better inclusion and representation of women.
Speaking on the launch of A.W.I.RE, Real Estate Unite 2014 Sponsor Ajoke Ogunlaja of CMB Building Maintenance and Investment said this was their contribution towards eradicating the bureaucracies that hinder women from actively participating in the sector.
The launch of A.W.I.R.E is expected to be one of the more coveted roundtable sessions and an avenue for immense possibilities that will be unleashed once the network is up and running.
Nominees for the awards categories are being selected and will be announced at a dinner during the event. The categories include Best Residential Project; Best Commercial Project; Leading Property Finance Company; Construction Company of the Year; Developer of the Year; Design Company of the Year; Housing Development of the Year; Best Real Estate Support Service; Future Project Awards; Real Estate Person of the Year; Outstanding Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project; and the 2014 State of Honour.
Real Estate Unite 2014’s top major event sponsors include ARM Properties, Gran Imperio Group, Cadwell, Structon Limited, Diamond Bank, UPDC, CMB Building Maintenance & Investment; and Ogun State Property Investment Company.
The event will also showcase over 50 exhibitors to attendees numbering in the thousands who will explore products and services which could result in them walking away with a key to their first property or financing for their first development project. Registration is still underway for delegates who are seeking an opportunity to kick-start or evolve their real estate portfolio. Attendees are urged to take advantage of the limited spaces available.
The strategic agenda for this year’s event promises to unlock the opportunities in real estate to create shared prosperity for all.
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