Kisumu Realtors Summit is the biggest event bringing together real estate stakeholders in the larger Lake Region Economic Bloc ranging from the property management, property agencies, developers, interiors etc.
The Laser Property Services which recently won the Valuable Brands Overall Real Estate Brand Award has now moved its headquarters to the Pension Towers along the Loita Street as it seeks for more space thanks to the firm’s exponential growth and ever increasing significant role in Kenya’s Real Estate sector.
Prior to the relocation, the company was based at the CPF House along the Haile Selasie Avenue where its parent corporation; the CPF Group is housed as well. While the Laser brand may not be so synonymous with most people, the company is the real estate arm of the financial powerhouse that CPF is. Some of the key services that the company offers include Property and Facilities Management through which the wide portfolio of properties owned across the CPF Group are managed; Project and DevelopmentManagement with the company being involved directly in the conceptualization of the project and the actual project management till handover.
Besides these major services offered under the Laser Property Services brand, the firm also provides Property and Asset Valuation Services, Feasibility Studies and Investment Appraisals, Real Estate Agency among many others. In terms of the notable properties under its portfolio include; CPF House, Pension Towers, The Freedom Heights along Lang’ata Road. Apart from this, Laser also develops housing projects for sale with the latest ones being Executive Town Villas in Karen and the upcoming Kisumu project dubbed “Anderson Park Project” consisting of 1,383 Apartment Units available for sale.
New Office Features
With the Laser being known for being the frontrunner in establishing ecologically friendly buildings in line with the globally adopted Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) guidelines, the company has greatly infused the concepts in its new office spaces that features modern amenities that include an architectural studio, a library, focus pods, meeting rooms, an executive boardroom, brainstorming area, dining area, and a mothers’ room. All these together forming an interconnected hub of creativity and innovation.
Announcing the move, the Company’s Executive Director Mr. Antony Mutisya acknowledged the incredible opportunities that this presents both for the brand and the business in general. “The offices symbolize the company’s dedication to sustainability and social responsibility as they have incorporated eco-friendly designs, energy & water efficient systems, and sustainable materials, underscoring the the company’s committment to reducing its environmental footprint”, he noted.
We congratulate the Laser Property Services Team on this Achievement.
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.
DR. GEORGE WACHIURI – CEO, OPTIVEN GROUP
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.
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!
When it comes to brand recognition and celebration, Valuable Brands Kenya has curved out a niche in merging the need for supporting the SMEs and the large enterprises in cutting through the noise in their quest to meet their potential customers through its various corporate events such as real estate summits and breakfasts, SME Expos among many others as well as giving them the opportunity to be recognized and celebrated across a wide range of brand award categories based on its strength. The upcoming Valuable Brands Realtors Awards is such an excellent chance for the real estate companies to take advantage of.
Following a rigorous process from the submission of nominations, reviewing of the nominees by the selection panel to this point of announcing the first batch of the finalists for the top real estate brands in Kenya across the various categorieson offer in this inaugural edition of the awards. Here are the selected brands so far.
As the evaluation process continues on finalizing the shortlisting of the pending nominations, we wish to pass our congatulations to the above selected brands to join the top real estate brands in kenya for the 2024 period.
IconPrime Properties Ltd’s name came up during our compilation of this year’s Top 30 Male Real Estate CEOs in Kenya listing and based on the various boxes ticked through the selection process, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Victor Michael Amollo landed on this inaugural class at Position 16. Icon Prime was founded by a couple, one Victor Amollo and Winnie Maina. As expected, our team wanted to dig deeper into this new real estate firm that is taking off delivering one plot at a time.
We had a rare opportunity to meet and engage with the CEO at his offices at Spur Mall Ruiru along Thika Road on how he got where he is right now, the kind of upbringing he went through and how that impacted his future life and most importantly, the sustainable strategies the company has put in place to ensure the growth of the Icon Prime Properties brand. This is Victor Amollo’s inspiring journey to the top.
Early Life
Victor was born to a humble family in the heart of Busia County – the westernmost part of the country neighbouring Uganda – where he recalls his early years as being very challenging. Going to school with a torn uniform, walking barefooted and not really finding a sense of purpose while in Primary School especially due to poor results can be a recipe for disaster. And this case was exacerbated further by discouragements from the people closest to him. From his own admission, the stage had been set for failure as he did not even anticipate joining high school!
But as fate would have it, his turning point was to come not far from finishing his KCPE exams after his parents passed on leaving them orphaned. As part of the succession plan to ensure that they were well catered for, the young Victor and his younger siblings were adopted by their uncle and became one big family. A decision that would effectively give him another chance to dream and design a different path for his future life. This is how it unfolded:
Given his unimpressive results in the runup to the KCPE Exams coupled with the demise of his parents some few months to the KCPE, he did not perform well and therefore didn’t expect to gain admission to a secondary school – at least that’s what he had grown up knowing. However, his uncle chose to give him the chance to pursue his secondary education in a local school nearby. This surprising turn of events was the spark that Victor needed to pivot his life. A journey that would eventually lead to the establishment of the Icon Prime Properties brand.
As a result of the offer from the uncle to go to high school, he decided to instead repeat Class 8 in his former primary school where he shocked everyone by emerging first position in his indexing exam. He maintained Top 3 spot till his KCPE exams in which he came third in the school.
“When I ranked top 3 in my first exam when I went back to the same school that I used to be among the bottom 20 in a class of 80+ pupils less than a year ago, I realized it was possible to achieve anything. I now started creating more time to study with an aim of not going below Top 5, equally earning me a place to proceed with high school studies.” Victor quips. A promise that he clearly kept.
This transformation was consequently not to end at the primary level as he continued on this growth trajectory through his secondary school still within Busia County to set an unassailable record of maintaining the first position from Form 2 up to the time he sat for his KCSE exams in which he led the school with an A- grade landing him the 52nd spot in the Top 100 KCSE Students in Western Kenya Province in the year 2006 and third best candidate in the then Busia district, now Busia County. He later on earned admission to Kenyatta University (KU) for his Bachelor’s degree.
On his main goal and strategy of pursuing excellence in high school, he knew that the only sure way for him to better his life was qualifying for the university to undertake a bachelor’s degree through HELB sponsorship. The Higher Education Loans Board is a government authority that provides low cost financing for students who gain admission to institutions of higher learning when they attain a certain grade during their KCSE Examinations. And as fate would have it, Victor was selected amongst the beneficiaries in his cohort to be supported through university thus the success we celebrate today.
Previous Work Experience
Prior to co-founding Icon Prime Properties with his wife, Winnie Maina, Victor Amollo had worked as a Medical Technologist at the Pathologist Lancet Kenya since 2011. He worked at the company rising through the ranks from internship level to eventually being granted the responsibility of setting up the Lancet Laboratories in Tanzania where he and other colleagues successfully steered the subsidiary and in turn gained the much-needed startup experience that would later prove invaluable in his entrepreneurial journey. He then returned to the country after this assignment in Tanzania with a resolve to start building his business on the side as well.
Awards won at a recent event.
Together with his wife, they started venturing into private business on the side with one of the initial ventures being horticulture farming in Mwea region. This is a journey he remembers making like three times a week very early in the morning to check on the farm and returning to still clock in for his day job. In addition, the couple had another income stream through matatu business which had been secured through savings at that time.
“Our goal was to get to a point where our main expenses as a family would be carried comfortably by our side hustles. This journey enabled us to add a second matatu bus that was secured through financing thus expanding our income even further. Over time, all these efforts set the stage for our first company that exists to date; Petals Hygiene and Sanitation Services.” He reminisces on those times. After seeing the positive direction their hustles were taking, Victor and his wife quit their employment in 2015 to fully concentrate on building their business venture(s).
Building Petals Hygiene and Sanitation Services Ltd
Next on his checklist was the co-founding of Petals Hygiene and Sanitation Services Ltd, a company focused on the provision of quality hygiene and sanitation services for their corporate and government agencies in need of such services. The company has been in existence for close to 9 years now and deal mainly in Commercial Office cleaning, Sanitary Disposal Services, Landscaping, Garbage and Medical Waste Disposal, Fumigation and Pest Control Services. Over the years, they have built a solid reputation in the housekeeping and hygiene line of business and today Petals Hygiene is a big household name to many consumers of this very services.
And with the experiences and contacts built over time, Victor and his wife eventually decided to take a plunge into the real estate industry, a passion they had harbored over time. They had a clear determination of going above and beyond to deliver to their clientele as well as redeem trust in the industry that had long gone due to rogue business personalities in the sector. They were also keen in providing affordable, value added and strategically located iconic properties.
Thus the birth of Icon Prime Properties Ltd.
About IconPrime Properties
Unlike the popular belief that a real estate brand should have been in the market for a relatively long time for it to be considered a success, we believe the cumulative corporate experience gained by the couple in their respective companies has been the biggest reason that has catapulted this brand this far. The dynamic couple attributes the success of their ventures to being resilient, trusting one another, a never give up attitude, embracing the ability to learn from own mistakes, complementing each other person’s ability and the fear of God in their lives.
IconPrime was incorporated in 2019 but actively came into business in the last quarter of 2021 and currently boasts of land projects across the Nairobi Metropolitan region in highly sought after locations such as Ngong, Kikuyu, Juja Farm, Kangundo road among many other areas that also include Diani. The other thing that sets the company apart from its peers is the fact that the company owns the properties in which it transacts therefore guaranteeing the customers a safer investment experience given the murky waters that the real estate industry has been in Kenya for some time.
Motivation To Startup Founders
As a motivation to anyone aspiring to try their luck in business, his resounding advise includes; the need to take risks, shunning off fear and following your dreams and passions by starting out early. He further advocates for consistency by putting in small efforts consistently which eventually elevates one to a level of achieving the big dreams.
Furthermore, the IconPrime Properties CEO believes embracing a positive mindset not only has the capacity of making one scale heights they never imagined possible but also enables one to develop habits that optimizes the quality of life that they seek. Finally, he acknowledges that God also plays a key role in ensuring the success of the business world hence the need to put Him before all endeavors. On the family’s role in accelerating one’s success, he says “the family that you create is more important than the family you come from,” underscoring the critical role that his wife continues to play within the corporate ecosystem of the companies they run and how his close family inspires and motivates him to keep going.
On the future of the company, he is very optimistic on the prospects of the firm given the rate at which it is growing. “The best is yet to come. Progressively we are making tangible strides. We see Icon Prime being a top real estate development firm through great customer service experience and consistently and seamlessly meeting the needs of Kenyans and those in the diaspora who are aspiring to fulfill their dreams of home ownership and wealth creation through property ownership, ” he concludes.
The Valuable Brands Realtors Award Nominations are now open. With the awards selection process set to take the whole of this first quarter, the nominations have now been opened across the 27 Categories spread across the Property Development, Sales, Management and other related services.
The awards are segmented into three as follows:
VALUABLE BRANDS AWARDS CATEGORIES
1. PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT
In this segment, we will be identifying and recognizing the various Valuable Brands in Kenya operating in the subsector such as residential development involved in residential project delopments for apartments, estates, homes; commercial developments involved in commercial projects such as shopping malls, office complexes, industrial parks; interior design among others. The Valuable Brands Kenya will be seeking to celebrate the several companies and brands pursuing excellence in the sectors that they are operating.
The Award Categories for this year include:
Residential Property Development Brand
Commercial Property Development Brand
Architectural Design Brand
Interior Design Brand
Sustainable Property Development Brand
Mixed Use Development Project
2. PROPERTY SALES, MARKETING & AGENCY
In this segment, Valuable Brands Kenya will be seeking to recognize and celebrate the various real estate brands demonstrating excellence in the real estate agency market such as land selling, property management, home selling among many other subsectors.
The Award Categories for this year include:
Property Management Company Brand
Property Investment Cooperative Brand
Low Cost Landselling Brand
Diaspora Focused Real Estate Brand
Women Owned Real Estate Brand
Youth Owned Real Estate Brand
Most Promising Real Estate Brand
Fastest Growing Real Estate Brand
Overall Real Estate Brand
Value Added Landselling Brand
Most Resilient Real Estate Brand
3. PROPERTY ASSOCIATED SERVICES
The real estate sector is not complete without recognizing the various brands offering related services such as paints, cement, roofing solutions amongst many others. The selected Valuable Brands Awards Categories for this include:
Paints Brand
Roofing Solutions Brand
Smart Home Solutions Brand
Property TV Show Brand
Construction Cement Brand
Interiors Finishes Brand
Property Finance & Mortgage Lending Brand
Property Management Systems Brand
Security Solutions Brand
VALUABLE BRANDS REALTORS AWARDS NOMINATIONS
A. Submission of Nominees
The Valuable Brands Awards Selection Process kicks off with this Call for submission of Nominations for the various award categories. The call for nominations will be undertaken for the next 3 weeks while the inhouse research team does the initial shortlisting of the submitted entries.
B. Official Awards Announcement
The Official Announcement of the Valuable Brands Awards will be made after the submission of the nominees have been made and shortlisted. During the launch of the Awards, the shortlisted nominees will be made known to the media through an organized press briefing together with the unveiling of the Key Strategic Partners for this Inaugural Edition. Some of the partners so far onboard include Robisearch Ltd offering the technological support, Doubleshasa Ltd as our main branding partner, Tenacity Locks Ltd among many others.
C. Judging and Finalist Selection
The third phase of the selection process will involve the Judges shortlisting the TOP 3 FINALISTS per the 27 Valuable Brands Awards Categories. The announcement of the finalists will be made in March to pave way for the media team to develop a clear brand strategy for promoting the successful brands across the media channels such as social media, mainstream media.
The timely announcement of the finalists will also give an excellent opportunity for the development of the Valuable Brands Magazine featuring the several brand winners and real estate companies that will have participated in this edition. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Valuable Brands Realtors Magazine will be distributed for free across the larger Nairobi region in leading hotels and restaurants, beauty salons, C-Suite offices among other key locations.
D. Awards Gala Night
Once the whole process is completed and the winners settled on, the Valuable Brands Realtors Awards will then culminate into the Awards Gala Night to be held on the 5th of April 2024 from 5.00PM at a location to be communicated in due time within Nairobi.
E. VALUABLE BRANDS AWARDS LEVELS
This inaugural awards will feature the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards levels for a number of categories while others will only have the Gold Award Levels getting trophies. This will be determined by the number of nomination entries made by a company and the diversity attracted by the award category involved.
Top Real Estate CEOs in Kenya 2024: For this list, we celebrate their incredible corporate achievements and diligence exercised in driving their companies to excellence. We review the various real estate companies across the property market involving the property development, interior design, property agency among others. This comes barely a month since our listing of the Top 10 Women Real Estate CEOs in Kenya.
Here is our Top Real Estate CEOs in Kenya – Male edition.
1. PETER NYAGA – MD, CERTIFIED HOMES LTD.
Through 2023, he has successfully steered the company into a behemoth launching a number of real estate projects across the country in locations such as Diani in Malindi, Joska Malaa, Ruiru and with new upcoming ones in Konza and Eldoret. For a company incorporated less than a decade ago, we celebrate this achievement.
2023 was definitely the biggest growth year for the company with the firm delivering a number of high value projects such as Mytown Mall Karen, the Kisii Retail Center, Danka Plaza in Kilimani and now with plans for another strip mall in Bamburi set for this year.
3. DR. GEORGE WACHIURI – CEO, OPTIVEN REAL ESTATE
For a company that is set to celebrate its silver jubilee next year, Dr. Wachiuri has created an incredible team behind him driving this immense growth into several regions in the country such as Nanyuki, Naromoru, Malindi, Nakuru and now has gotten to Kitale. And last year also saw the company ventured into the property development segment with the establishment of Optiven Homes Ltd.
4. SAM KARIUKI – CEO, MI VIDA HOMES LTD
Last year was the CEO’s first full year at the helm of Mi VIda Homes and through his leadership, the firm has launched various projects such as the 1,150-unit Keza Residence, 640 – unit 237GC and Amaiya Project. Furthermore, the company has recently sold out their Garden City Housing Project within the Garden City Development.
5. KENNETH MBAE – MD, CENTUM REAL ESTATE
Kenneth Mbae is undoubtedly the youngest managing director heading a top tier real estate company in Kenya with property development interests at Vipingo in Kilifi County, Pearl Marina in Uganda and the Two Rivers Social City in Nairobi. Under his leadership, the team has successfully repaid a Ksh. 2.95 Billion bond through a mix of cash payments and transfer of housing units hence keeping Centum RE’s balance sheet healthy.
6. ANDREW MUTHEE GITAU – CEO, AMG REALTORS
AMG Realtors has experienced tremendous growth during the rein of the founder and now Executive Director, Andrew Muthee Gitau. During 2023, he steered the company to launch several projects and expand into newer locations such as Sagana in Kirinyaga County.
7. REUBEN KIMANI – CEO, USERNAME PROPERTIES LTD
We all know that being recognized among the Top Real Estate CEOs in Kenya demands that you have done something spectacular during the period under review. And for Reuben Kimani, last year was the moment when the company surprised its outstanding sales executive with a brand new Mercedes! And while the firm has always prioritized its workforce before, they have now also launched another project dubbed “Nawiri Pamoja”, a project focused on uplifting the communities in which it operates. No mean achievement by this incredible leader.
8. MOSES MURIITHI – CEO, FANAKA REAL ESTATE
Moses Muriithi clearly earns his place among the Top Real Estate CEOs in Kenya as the company had another great year of growth. Besides this, the end the year saw the firm treat its staff on an all expenses paid holiday at the coast while the Employee of year got a cheque of Ksh. 1 Million shillings. We ackowledge this spirit of putting the team as the first priority.
9. DR. HEZEKIAH KARIUKI – CEO, COMFORT HOMES LTD
Dr. Hezekiah Kariuki is the CEO of Comfort Homes Ltd and thrugh his leadership has grown the company successfully to deliver land projects in locations such as Kitengela, Isinya, Ruiru, Syokimau, Mai Mahiu, Ol Kalou, Kilimambogo and Konza.
10. JOHN MWAURA – CEO, FINSCO AFRICA
For a company that has exponentially grown from being a property marketing agency to now offer its own gated community development projects in under 3 years, we celebrate the CEO as among our inaugural Top 30 Real Estate CEOs in Kenya. With no doubt, the efforts and diligence that went into conceptualizing the Thika Grove Chania would not go unnoticed.
11. KINYUA WAIRATU – CEO, MAONO LANDS INVESTMENTS
Doubling up as the founding chairman of the Association of Real Estate Stakeholders (RESA), the CEO unwavering efforts in supporting the regularization of the sector for the benefits of all real estate stakeholers goes a long way. And he epitomises this in his leadership of Maono Lands Investments Ltd. A company he founded in 2016.
12. CLEOPHAS NYAGAKA – CEO, FINE URBAN INTERIORS
Cleophas Nyagaka earns his spot on this list thanks to his company’s tremendous contributions in the adoption of High end interior design concepts in Kenya. Through his firm’s accounts accounts across Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube, the company showcases and promotes the emerging interior design market hence pushing the bar high.
13. ABUBAKAR MKUMBUKA BANZI – CEO, KOMBANI HOMES LTD
Being the only ranked CEO outside Nairobi, Abubakar has played a significant role in reshaping the real estate market in the coastal region where the company is based.
14. NAFTALI MWANGI – CEO, HYSSOP PROPERTIES
Naftali Mwangi is the founder and CEO of Hyssop Properties Ltd. Under his leadership, the company has curved out its niche in property marketing agency assisting buyers get available land and housing projects available in the market across the country. The firm also sells their own land projects.
15. DANIEL OJIJO – CEO, KENYA HOMES EXPO
Unlike all the other Top Real Estate CEOs in Kenya listed due to their direct interests in real estate agency, Daniel Ojijo is recognized for his contributions through the bi annual homes expo bringing together the real estate stakeholers and buyers for over 17 years now. Daniel also runs a property management agency within his Homes Universal portfolio.
17. VICTOR AMOLLO – CEO, ICONPRIME INVESTMENTS LTD
Victor Amollo is one of the most promising real estate players having driven the company within two years to have land projects spread across the region. Interestingly, most of these achievements can be attributed to 2023 with an incredible team behind him.
17. DAVID MWANGI – CEO, WESTHILL SHELTERS LTD
David Mwangi is the Chief Executive Officer of Westhill Shelters Ltd, a real estate company based in Nairobi with land projects in Juja Farm, Ruiru among other locations.
18. DANIEL KAMAU – CEO, FUSION ESTATE MANAGEMENT / FUSION CAPITAL
Within the 2023 period, the fund management company, Fusion Capital established its real estate subsidiary- Fusion Estate Management and placed under the leadership of Daniel. And in less than a year, the subsidiary has grown to rival the established firms in the real estate market with the main achievement being the operationalization of the Greenwood City Mall in Meru.
19. KEN MUGOH – CEO, MADARAKA HOMES
Ken Mugoh is the Managing Director of Madaraka Homes Ltd. A real estate company based in Nairobi with interests in Nanyuki, Diani, Joska and now with a new project in Konza.
20. JAMES MACHARIA – CEO, TOPCARE LANDS LTD
James Macharia is the CEO of Topcare Lands Ltd with projects in Joska, Juja among many other locations.
The Other CEOs among the TOP REAL ESTATE CEOS IN KENYA include:
It is transition o’clock at AMG Realtors as the founder and CEO Mr. Andrew Muthee Gitau from whose initials the company derives its name, is stepping down as the Chief Executive Officer to take up the Executive Director Role at the company. During his 11 year stint as CEO, he steered the company through the rough terrain of real estate to become one of the biggest real estate companies in Kenya.
According to an official statement from the company, Mr. Martin Githinji has been appointed the new CEO having served in the company for over 8 years spanning various departments and most recently being the Company’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Throughout his tenure, he has demonstrated commitment to serving you in your investment journey passionately & relentlessly. We have full confidence in Martin’s ability to lead us into the next chapter of growth and success.”, the statement reads in part.
Previously, the new AMG Realtors CEO Martin Githinji is a former communications consultant at Bayer Kenya and formerly worked as an associate editor at the Kenya News Agency Cooperative Limited. He got his bachelor’s in Commerce from the KCA University and had done Broadcast Journalism at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC).
Meanwhile, Mr. Andrew Muthee Gitau becomes the company’s Executive Director providing insights and overal leadership to the Board of Directors and the company.
Valuable Brands Kenya is pleased to announce the upcoming Valuable Brands Awards to be held in March 2024. The first edition is predominantly focused on the wider real estate sector and seeks to acknowledge, recognize and celebrate the established and emerging brands changing lives through their product and service offerings in Kenya.
With the real estate market boasting of some of the country’s dynamic brands and based on the lucrative nature of the sector, alot of efforts and guidance are needed in providing a framework of ensuring that building brands in the sector is consistent with the needs of the target clientele. Doing so also guarantees value to all the related stakeholders within the society in which they operate. Creation of clear brand recognition strategies and support that steers positive competition among them and promotes brand collaborations is what sets Valuable Brands Awards apart.
About Valuable Brands Kenya
You may have come across some of our latest rankings and recognitions of various key real estate personalities and our highlighted brand stories in Kenya so far. Valuable Brands Kenya runs an online brands magazine on this site. For instance, we released our first ever listing of the Top 10 Women Real Estate CEOs in Kenya.
Aprominent list that not only recognized the established personalities in the industry such as Ms. Nancy Muthoni of Property Show With Nancy that airs on KTN Home every Sunday, but also new entrants in the sector such as Mary Diana of Modern Homes Ltd. The Overall ranking for 2023 is as follows:
Top 10 Women Real Estate CEOs 2023
Another recognition listing that we have recently done is the Top 3 Persons Of The Year In Real Estate In Kenya. We named the 3 individuals that really shaped the sector in 2023 as Mr. Peter Nyaga of Certified Homes, Dr. George Wachiuri of Optiven Ltd and Mr. Mwenda Thuranira of Myspace Properties Ltd.
Valuable Brands Person of the Year 2023
Upcoming Valuable Brands Listings
As Valuable Brands Kenya continues to develop its brands recognition guidelines and ranking system, we anticipate more diverse sectoral listings featuring industries such as Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Education, Healthcare, Automotive, Technology, Energy, Media, Fashion and Apparel, Transport and Logistics among others.
Currently, our next upcoming Listing is featuring the TOP 30 MALE REAL ESTATE CEOs.
