Minister Kanimba receives KCB developers club in Rwanda for a Three day visit

A delegation of 42 Members of Kenya Commercial Bank Group Developers Club is in the country with the aim to share their experiences and seek the Rwandan developers looking for partnerships in the real estate industry.

According to Maurice Toroitich, KCB Rwanda’s Managing Director, the 42 members delegation from Kenya and Uganda, is in the country for a fact finding mission to explore opportunities to partner with local developers to bridge the gap in the real estate sector.

While receiving the delegation Hon. Minister Kanimba François highlighted that Rwanda is looking for an accelerated growth in the coming decade to be able to achieve the Vision 2020 targets mainly aiming at shifting the Country from a least Developing Country to Middle income Country.

“We strongly believe that the construction Industry in Rwanda is still an opportunity for investors”. The Minister noted, adding that those who need to invest for longer term in such sector should target the middle incomes estates instead of looking at the upper range of the society which is limited in nature.

The Developers club was launched in 2009 with the aim of providing a unique platform that allows both established and potential estate developers to meet and share ideas as well as other professionals involved in the real estate business. The Club has currently over 300 members and it is assisting developers to sell their units through KCB’s network and corporate partners.

The KCB Rwanda’s Managing Director said that the Rwandan subsidiary is set to launch a similar club this year. KCB Rwanda launched its mortgage product last year by offering a minimum of 10 per cent deposit for first time home owners, a minimum 20 per cent deposit for residential units under construction and 30 per cent deposit for non-residential commercial properties.

The club has had successful trips to South Africa and China in the past years and there are plans to visit Malaysia and Singapore in October 2012. These trips have exposed members to various developments and technologies being applied successfully in these markets, and also provide exclusive opportunities for members to go on fact finding trips to expand their understanding of the exciting and potentially rewarding world of real estate development at discounted packages.

The delegation is scheduled to visit low cost housing projects to learn about challenges facing African countries with a growing middle class who lack affordable housing either for outright purchase or mortgage purposes.