Acorn Holdings Limited and Absa Bank Kenya have just recently announced their partnership in order to provide 12,000 new beds of student accommodation in Nairobi worth KES 6.7 Billion. 

Acorn Holdings is a renowned property development company in Kenya, with experience of providing purpose built student’s accommodations (PBSA) across the country. The company has also built two of Kenya’s 3 REITs , namely: 

• the Acorn Student Accommodation D-REIT, and 
• The Acorn Student Accommodation I-REIT.

 

Absa Bank Kenya is a financial services provider, which is  a part of Absa Group, a Pan African financial services group with presence in 12 countries across the African continent.

 

The partnership targets bridging the student housing gap in Kenya. Therefore, the projects will include 10 new purpose-built student accommodation buildings that will house 12,000 student beds, therefore making it the largest portfolio in Africa. The accommodations will be strategically located in close proximity to top Universities in Kenya including: Kenyatta University, JKUAT, and University of Nairobi.

Not only will the KES 6.7 Billion development aid the provision of student’s housing, it will also contribute to social and environmental outcomes, with each building targeting the IFC EDGE certification for green buildings.

According to Yusuf Omari, Interim CEO of Absa Bank, Kenya, 

“This deal highlights our project management and collaborative capabilities and serves as a catalyst to the Absa Corporate and Investment Banking strategy to grow operations in key regions while also demonstrating our Sustainable Finance capabilities”.

Edward Kirathe, CEO Acorn Holdings Limited, stated,

 “This is the largest such facility we have arranged and it being with a Tier 1 Pan African Bank is a testament to the excellent prospects in the purpose-built accommodation sector.”

It will allow us to continue providing affordable student housing for our greater social and environmental good, as we believe every student deserves access to affordable and high-quality housing”. Acorn Holdings continued.

 

This announcement is coming not long after Shelter Afrique announced its intentions to partner with global Private Equity Firm Actis Limited, and Indian Real Estate Firm Shapoorji Pallonji, in a bid to deliver affordable housing projects across Africa. These two announcements within the space of the same week indicate increased investor’s interest in the special purpose developments such as affordable housing and PBSA’s. 

 

Let us know what you think about the opportunity for affordable housing and student housing in  Kenya by sending an email to [email protected]. 

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