The future of serve-lead real estate in Africa

Ian Lawrence
Consultant, Knight Frank EMC

There is no doubt the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated trends in Africa and globally. However, Africa’s 54 countries are all at different stages of development and each of their real estate sectors will react to the pandemic in their own way. What remains to be seen is how advancements in technology will allow those countries to “leapfrog” existing technological cycles and how many yet unknown technological innovations will be born out of Africa. 

Charles Onyenze
Partner, Knight Frank Nigeria

Across Nigeria, we are likely to see a redesigning of residential floor plates to reflect the need for private offices and studies; more like an intensive live/work concept fully integrated into residential apartments. I anticipate that this concept will in future be backed by legislation and regulations by physical planning departments at various governmental levels.

Across the commercial real estate sector, occupiers are expected to align towards quality service, driven by excellent facilities management services as opposed to merely focusing on square metre purchases or leases. Hence, in the near term, we expect to see property owners, facilities management companies and services management experts collaborating for better service delivery.

Winnie Gachagua
Corporate Real Estate Services Manager, Kenya

While we were already experiencing low absorption, the current pandemic escalated the situation and forced landlords to become more innovative and competitive in a bid to attract tenants and improve occupancies. A few have seized the initiative by improving the quality of otherwise shell and core spaces to Grade A standard, or offering to fit out space to client specifications then amortising the cost in rent. Most notably – and unique to this market – a few have set up serviced office centres within their buildings to accommodate tenants looking for lease flexibility. 

Sharon Kamayangi
Occupier Services Representative, Uganda

Real estate as a service is expected to continue to form an essential part of the property sector long after the pandemic. 
In Uganda, we anticipate this will usher in new ways of doing business through increased technology adoption and flexible working.

These factors are set to create new opportunities in the real estate sector. Guidance on space optimisation, co-working and office restructuring for occupiers have become key areas of focus, reflecting the increased opportunities for real estate firms. Ultimately, it is the adaptability of real estate firms to this “new normal” that will determine who will thrive in the current and future economy.