UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | In February of this year, Joanita Maaya, from the popular YouTube Vlog Kenganda Channel, interviewed Mr Edwin Musiime, one of the most influential personalities in Ugandan real estate.
Mr Musiime, host of NTV’s The Property Show in Uganda, is himself an experienced and successful real estate investor. He is the CEO & chairperson of Crescent Group, an investment portfolio in furniture, manufacturing, interior designing, construction, fashion, media, events management, and of course, the real estate market.
During the interview, Mr Musiime urged Ugandan Diasporans to invest in Uganda’s real estate market, saying that now is the right time to invest.
Mr Musiime explained that Uganda has a substantial real estate market, given the housing deficit of 2.4 million housing units in the nation. Kampala alone has a 550,000 housing deficit. Moreover, 900,000 houses are in substandard or in terrible shape.
He says these statistics show that there is a lot of opportunity for new investors. He urges diaspora to use the capital they have to invest in the growing real estate market.
“My call to anyone in the diaspora would be, whatever you are doing is great, but consider having a piece of Africa, a piece of Uganda, right now is the right time.”
He gave the following advice to anyone looking to move to Uganda or invest in the real estate market in Uganda:
Invest in Building Your Home
Mr Musiime explains there are three ways to own property: inheriting, personal financing, or through a mortgage. He built his first dream house through personal savings, saving his money over time, then building his house.
He admits mortgages can be a challenge because of high bank lending rates, while inheriting is not an option available to the majority.
He explains that building from scratch allows you to make your developments in phases at your own pace, whether you take a mortgage or are financing your home by yourself.
“People in the Diaspora, they have access to some cheap capital, and that makes it much easier for them. You can invest in building your own home, why? Because you have no pressure, first you buy your land, the most important resource for owning a home, and you phase up your development. For example, if you are going to build a 2 or 3 storey building, you phase it out and you work work at your own pace,” he says.
When asked how he does it all, he said, “it’s about building systems, systems are not just for organisations or institutions, but for individuals.”
The Real Estate Market Has Shifted
Mr Musiime gave an example of NTV’s ‘The Property Show’ produced by Sun Media, which he launched in 2013. He had about 13 years of broadcasting experience before launching Sun Media, and now the Property Show has grown to air in over four countries, including Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana.
He says the real estate market in Uganda has seen a significant shift during that time. He noted that property types are now a lot more varied than they used to be.
“At the beginning of the property show, seven years ago, they rarely varied the real estate market as it is now. The houses were mostly bungalows, and they needed a lot of work to sensitise people on how we could work together to develop well-planned communities.”
He added “I live on Bazinga Hill, and just standing on the terrace and looking and taking a glimpse of the entire hill and seeing what’s happening, it’s super amazing what’s happening in real estate right now. Real estate in Uganda right now is more exciting than ever before.”
Don’t Rush
Mr Musiime says there are many luxurious and affordable housing players in the real estate market. However, he cautions people looking to invest haphazardly.
When asked what the best investments in Uganda are, he quickly responded, “I always find it disastrous to answer this question.”
He continued to say, “as a mentor, I desist from telling people what to invest in. Entrepreneurship is not about what’s in or what’s the hottest seller, my perspective is that entrepreneurship is from passion, heart and soul.”
He believes there are many opportunities in Uganda, and whatever market anyone invests in, they must be aggressive and consistent.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW
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