By Geoffrey Kiragu, Founder and Director, Lesedi Developers Limited
Real estate developer Lesedi Developers and Lesedi Homes has won top enterprise award. The firm won two awards in two different categories- The Company of the Year award, 2021 and The Young Entrepreneur Achievement Award — 2021 which were awarded to the director Mr Geoffery Kiragu.
The National Business Leadership Awards (NaBLA) is an initiative that targets acknowledging and celebrating Kenyan business leaders and enterprises that use excellent sustainability strategies to “make a true impact on business, society, and the environment”.
The awards aim to see Kenyan business leaders and enterprises who are accredited and fully recognized by respective government bodies celebrated and acknowledged for their impactful work and excellence in respective fields.
The awards gala was held on Friday 26 at the Panari Hotel. The ceremony, according to the organisers, provided an opportunity for local business leaders to interact with other like-minded individuals.
Mr Kevin Wainaina received the awards on behalf of Lesedi. “Once you become a market winner, you may simply form networks with other market winners resulting to a business’s long-term success,” said Mr Wainaina.
Since its inception four years ago, the company says it has seen more than 5,000 Kenyans own property in Thika, Juja, Machakos, Muranga and Nairobi. The company recently introduced a product called Lesedi Club for Land, where a client can register to become a member and pay little installments from as low as Sh10,000 per month.
Kenyans with medium and low income under the plan now have a chance of becoming landowners as real estate developers find innovative ways of tapping into the huge market. According to the plan by Lesedi Developers, attractive, flexible installment plans have been crafted to make it easy for potential buyers to make installment plans and become new landowners.
“To become a member, an individual only requires to pay a minimum deposit of Sh120,000 which can be paid either in 3, 6 or 12 months before the land is handed to the client and the remaining balance is cleared within 3 years,” said the head of the product Mr Vincent Munderu earlier.
The firm disclosed that the idea has been received positively with over 150 members already registered. Mr Geofrey Kiragu, the owner and director of Lesedi Group earlier cited the high price of land and lack of proper financing as among the biggest challenges for people who want to invest in property.
“Revenue acquisition has become uncertain and developers need to look for new and creative ways to ensure Kenyans with varying incomes acquire property,” he said. “LCL was born out of the need to provide affordable land in developed and upcoming areas to Kenyans who are interested in owning land but cannot afford,” Mr Kiragu said.
He noted that the buy now, pay later model is becoming more popular, thanks to the seismic shift the real estate industry has experienced over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides becoming an LCL member, Mr Kiragu said the platform allows individuals to choose from a variety of properties and an area of preference.
The real estate companies have had to adjust how they interact with clients as the industry has gone through a rollercoaster due to the emergence of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. “A company that is currently still focused only on making as much profit as possible will probably not survive long term in this economy,” noted Mr Kiragu.
