Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December 14/ January 15 | Page 18

cover story

“One of the specific advantages
of operating in Africa is that it
is still possible to gain access to
attractive investment targets
with relatively low capital input
due to the infancy of the industry.
Early investors are therefore still
able to catch the worm.” - Olaf
Meier, African Development
Corporation.
of urbanisation. He notes that in 2010, Africa had 51
cities with more than a million inhabitants, and only
one city (Cairo) with more than 10 million. However,
by 2040, Africa is expected to have more than 100
cities of more than a million and 7 cities of more than
10 million. The largest city is projected to be Kinshasa,
where the population is expected to reach 24 million
by 2040.
In a bid to cope with this rising urbanisation, entire
new cities are already being developed, such as Tatu
City and Konza City in Kenya, and the City of Light
in Accra and King City in Takoradi, Ghana. In Nigeria,
there is the Greater Port Harcourt City and the modern
Eko-Atlantic City being built on reclaimed sea. These
‘self-contained’ new cities, based on the work-play-live
concept, are intended to relieve the highly congested
metropolises and minimise the need for inhabitants to
go into the ‘centre’.
“One of the specific advantages of operating in
Africa is that it is still possible to gain access to
attractive investment targets with relatively low capital
input due to the infancy of the industry. Early investors
are therefore still able to catch the worm.” Olaf Meier,
African Development Corporation.
As with any new market, it is the first movers who
will have the greatest opportunity to create markets,
establish brands, shape industry structures, influence
customer preferences, and establish long-term
relationships.
Challen