A few years back, the real estate sector was predominantly run by established personalities. Both in age and experience. Not anymore as more youth join the very luctrative sector thus challenging the status quo as we knew it.
Such a company owned and run by a youth is MD MODERN HOMES under the able stewardship of the youthful CEO, Marydiana. For a startup that has barely been in the market for less than a decade with such a promising brand, our selection team for the Valuable Brands Realtors Awards unanimously endorsed for the coveted award of the Best Youth Owned Real Estate Brand in Kenya for 2024.
About the Founder Marydiana
The CEO boasts of over 6 years experience in the real estate space as a realtor; kickstarting her career straight from the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) where she pursued a degree in Mathematics and Statistics graduating in 2017. She started off as a realtor handling sales prospects and rose to become the sales manager at one of Kenya’s budding low cost property development firms before taking a deep dive into entrepreurship in 2022.
Apart from being featured in our inaugural Top Women Real Estate CEOs in Kenya 2023 released last year, she has also been recognized by the Kenya Professional Realtors Association (KPRA) as the Realtor of the Year 2023, the National Business and Leadership Award (NABLA) honoured her with the Young Entrepreneur Achievement Award 2023 as well as being featured in countless TV Shows to discuss matters real estate such as the KTN’s The Entrepreneur Show and the TV47’s Realtors Show among many others. All focused on growing the MD Modern Homes brand!
md modern homes CEO featured on the Daily Nation Newspaper.
About MD Modern Homes
This real estate firm that is run by an entirely youthful team, is focused majorly on property marketing leveraging on its strong social media presence. The company has over 80K Facebook followers with millions of video views amassed over time while its Youtube channel has over 1,700 subscribers with hundreds of thousands views accumulated. And ofcourse the famous founder is leading the way with over 12K followers to her name on Facebook.
On the future prospects of the company, the CEO says, “Currently our focus is on marketing real estate projects and partnering with home owners-and developers. Our long term vision however is to go a top notch higher and be a developer and market out own real estate projects as I get a lot of motivation from the developers I have partnered with”. Furthermore, it is worth noting that over 50 real estate developers drawn from across the country have collaborated with MD Modern Homes in offtaking their properties.
On having an all youthful team at the firm, the founder notes the importance of growing together as a team and celebrating the wins they make as they work towards their illustrious future. She also believes that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and we conquer with her fully!
In line with the Valuable Brands Kenya’s rallying call for the participating brands to commit on promoting impact beyond profits, the company is keen on supporting the development of talents in the rural counties through its football tournaments among many other projects they do.
On receiving the award, the CEO and the team had this to say:
It’s an immense Honor to receive this award Yesterday during the Valuable Brands Realtors Award 2024 held at Trade Mark Hotel, by Valuable Brands Kenya recognizing our brand’s Hard work, dedication and commitment in the industry.. Thanks be to God for the far we’ve come ,all our valued clients and the entire #MDModernHomes fraternity for the endless support and making this Possible!
As 2023 comes to an end, Valuable Brands Kenya takes stock of the last 365 days reviewing some of the trailblazing milestones and achievements by the various women real estate stakeholders and founders leading some of Kenya’s most successful and upcoming firms. Here is our inaugural list of the Top 10 Women Real Estate CEOs that shaped 2023 in Kenya:
1. Nancy Muthoni – CEO, Property Show With Nancy / First Avenue Properties
Nancy Muthoni is the Founder and CEO of Property Show With Nancy that airs on KTN Home every sunday. The show highlights the various new real estate trends, available property investment opportunities and other real estate solutions. Furthermore, Nancy runs First Avenue Properties and Upscale Homes which deal in real estate agency and home construction services respectively. She tops this inaugural list for being a trailblazer in promoting home ownership amongst Kenyans.
2. Leah Wambui – CEO, Cheriez Properties
Leah is the founder and CEO of Cheriez Properties. A property development company focused on high end homes projects with Projects in Kitengela. From humble beginnings of hope and resilience, she’s been able to build a strong company that now not only provides bespoke real estate solutions but also offers interior design and home construction services for clients.
3. Anne Mwai – CEO, Bama Diaspora
Anne is definitely among the key women real estate CEOs in Kenya revolutionizing the industry. Through her diaspora focused company, Bama Diaspora, she provides investment alternatives to investors mostly based in the USA hence contributing to the building of trust in the highly volatile sector. She has been a mentor to several upcoming realtors and a host of women venturing into the business world.
4. Lizzie Costabir – CEO, BuyRent Kenya
BuyRent Kenya is undoubtedly an essential part of the real estate agency ecosystem in Kenya. And sitting at the helm is Lizzie Costabir, a phenomenal woman who’s working round the clock to create a more responsive content management system that creates more value for buyers, sellers and agents who leverage on the platform to transact safely. As the real estate market bounced back amid an ever rising need for real estate properties, BuyRent Kenya rose up to the occassion to facilitate the engagements thus earning Lizzie a spot on this list.
5. Sarah Wahogo – CEO, Safaricom Investment Cooperative
Sarah Wahogo has been at the helm of Safaricom Investment Cooperative for slightly over a year and her contributions to one of Kenya’s leading members’ investment co-operative are clear. Coming in at a time when the firm had no organizational challenges to steering it into a reputable company worth emulating is no mean feat. The cooperative has now create real estate agency platform called SIC PRIME connecting buyers, renters, developers and sellers.
6. Mary Diana – MD, Modern Homes
Mary Diana is the face of the young women real estate CEOs in Kenya taking content creation by storm! Through her Youtube Channel and other social media platforms, she has been able to cut herself a niche in showcasing various real estate projects and properties available for sale and rent across the country. And as they say, consistency is King and she’s definitely the queen at not just Modern Homes but also redefining how real estate marketing is done in Kenya.
7. Jane Baiyu – CEO, Amara Realty
Jane Baiyu makes to this inaugural list being the founder and CEO of Amara Realty Limited – a company offering property investment opportunities to Kenyans both within and in diaspora. Through her efforts and wide experience in the sector, Amara Realty has undergone steady growth and become a company of great repute for modeling by new entrants in the market.
Princess Caroline Mutisya is the CEO of Legacy Estates and also doubles as the Managing Partner of CR Advocates, a legal firm based in Nairobi Kenya. Legacy Estates offers real estate investment solutions in various locations in Kenya and has embarked on contributing towards rebuilding trust in the general real estate conveyance services and hence encouraging investors to consider the highly lucrative property business in Kenya.
9. Charity Nyoike-Baur – CEO, Nisiri Ventures
Being the only CEO making the list from outside Nairobi, Charity is the founder of Nisiri Ventures Limited – a real estate company based in Nanyuki providing investment projects in the vast Laikipia County. She has been a leading business leader, mentor and investor in the vibrant Nanyuki region and continues to inspire a new generation of women realtors not only in the area but in Kenya at large.
10. Ruth Mbula – CEO, Rubrina Properties
Finally on our list of Women Real Estate CEOs in Kenya that shaped 2023 is another youthful founder of Rubrina Properties who is also revolutionizing the way Youtube is used in marketing real estate properties in Kenya. She is a testament that with determination and objectivity, you can build a brand from nothing, literally!
In conclusion, Valuable Brands Kenya celebrates these phenomenal women and the brands they have built over time. We will hold the Valuable Brands Awards to acknowledge, recognize and celebrate the various brands impacting lives in Kenya in the real estate sector across all value chains. For more details, please email us on award@valuablebrands.co.ke.
