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What crosses your mind when Optiven is mentioned? Is it the countless billboards you see dotted across Kenya’s busiest highways and avenues, the numerous online ads that you interact with in your online engagements, the company’s very influential and consequential CEO Dr. George Wachiuri or perhaps you are its beneficiary as an employee, property sales agent, stakeholder or maybe been supported by its foundation: Optiven Foundation?
Well, whichever way you have had an experience with Optiven. One word is synonymous with them: Diaspora!
For starters, the diaspora community referred to here comprises of Kenyans living in other parts of the world for various reasons mostly work related and education and due to their roots in the country always seek opportunities to invest home. Therefore on the lookout for local firms that can help them achieve this. And what better partner than Optiven Group! A company that has been enabling investors to own a piece of Kenya for the last 24 years and only growing stronger by the day.
How Optiven Real Estate Started
As it is common with most Kenyan wealth building journey, the Optiven Group’s story emanates from a series of previously failed ventures. Among them joint ventures, sole proprietorships, partnerships leading to the point of the founder losing a sum total of Ksh. 5 million shillings! Something that would eventually lay the solid foundation on which Optiven was built. Dr. Wachiuri notes on his resolve going forward “I lost over Sh. 5 Million shillings in a deal gone sour, which was my all 10 year savings from employment. That loss drives my passion. No single person will ever lose money if they deal with us.” Part of the reason that we named him among the 2023’s Persons of the Year.
A testament that would prove true in many years that followed. Especially with the target market in the diaspora. A community that have fallen prey to many investment schemes of all kinds. Ranging from their friends and close family members – sometimes, even involving their parents and siblings – as well as a number of real estate firms out to take advantage on them. But thanks to reputable firms like Optiven, alternative solutions are now available. Infact, not just in Kenya’s city locations but countrywide!
Property Investment Strategy
Optiven’s main strategy when it comes to availing their properties for sale to clients is to guarantee the value addition part by focusing on making the life for the projected dwellers as easy and convenient as possible. Furthermore, investing in the environment stands out by promoting conservation efforts of planting trees in all their properties on offer.
True to the company’s philosophy, they have invested heavily in ensuring that their investors are not just buying land, but creating self sustaining communities by security with highly secure fences coupled with manned gates, water accessibility by drilling water onsite, connecting electricity to as close your plot as possile and ensuring the access roads link you directly to the tarmac roads! Something that you wouldn’t other experience with most of the companies in the same space. We guarantee you that!
Besides this tangible investment on your behalf, Optiven Real Estate has also set its vision on providing recreational facilities within their projects such as the GMC Centres built in Karen, Kitengela and another one set to be developed in Nanyuki at their Great Oasis Project. The final and most important part has everything to do with establishing the various Welfare Home Owners Associations in their projects that help in managing the properties and creating a sense belonging amongst the property owners who become the sole members of the associations.
How big is Optiven in Kenya
The firm has focused heavily on the reinvestment strategies over time that has led it to build its wide asset base beyond the Ksh. 1 billion shillings mark! A feat that very few self funded real estate property agencies can boast of. This is attributed by the CEO and team to a culture of honesty, professionalism, creativity and innovation. “At Optiven, we cant promise what we cant deliver. The secret of our growth is keeping our word and integrity. We aspire to keep our focus and make our customers wealthy,” he adds.
From a small company that started as a general supplies businesses then morphed into a real estate agency and to grow in less than three decades into a huge real conglomerate is nothing less than inspiring. Most definitely this comes with hundreds of jobs created across the country, hundreds of students sponsored through high school, thousands of customers empowered to become home owners and much much more impact created!
And onto the big question on how big Optiven is, here is a sneakpeak into the companies that Optiven Kenya currently owns:
- Optiven Homes : Optiven fully owns this subsidiary that is focused on building homes for the many customers that the parent company serves all across its portfolio properties.
- GMC Place: GMC Place is a hotel franchise that offers a unique blend of Fun and African /European cuisine. There are currently two prime GMC locations in Karen and Kitengela. Just as Optiven Homes, Optiven Group owns 100% of the subsidiary.
- Optiven Foundation : This is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of the Optiven Group through which the company supports the communities in which it operates by sponsoring students in schools, planting trees amongst others.
- Optiven Water : This subsidiary is involved in ensuring that all the properties on offer across the country are well supplied internally to guarantee your peace of mind when it comes to your water needs.
- Other interests include in the insurance sector etc.
Optiven Today
With this strong foundation, the company has now grown bigger with the ongoing plans to have it listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange thus according everyone an opportunity to own a piece of the firm and be part of this unfolding real estate empire.
Optiven has also opened an office in the United States of America in the State of Arkansas with the target of tapping into the huge diaspora market of over 120,ooo Kenyans living in the USA alone! “Kenyans living in the North America will now be able to sign their transfer documents, make payments and have their title deeds delivered to them; which saves them the cost of travelling to Kenya,” Dr. George Wachiuri concludes.
We therefore congratulate the company and the team for making it to our inaugural awards list as the Diaspora Focused Real Estate Brand Award presented by Valuable Brands Kenya.
