Real Estate Investment Opportunities in Africa – A systematic series on the Ghanaian Sector Part 1

By Daniel Kontie

This is an excerpt, the full article can be downloaded at our Newsletter Section on this website

A recent observation made by our outfit, the Africa Continental Engineering & Construction Network (ACECN) on some selected African countries points to the fact that Ghana has the highest rate of urbanization, (ACECN, 2024). This again positions Ghana as the most preferred destination for real estate investment in Africa. The figure below is the graphical representation of the rates of urbanization with Ghana topping the list with 58.62% in 2022.

Figure 1 (Data source: Statista, 2022)

Also, the ever-growing middle class is another crucial index worth considering, Africa is developing faster than it was in the 20^th century, it is therefore not a surprise to see many economic indicators assuming positive resilience across the African continent. Ghana have had its share of this rapid development over the years. In 2013, the African Development Bank (AfDB) published that about 46% of Ghanaians are now classified as middle class compared to a continent-wide average of 34.3%. Eleven years down the line, this may have grown above 50% except the gains eroded by the two-year COVID-19 pandemic. It is also interesting to know that majority of these middle class live and work in the cities particularly the national capital, Accra. This has put a lot of pressure on residential facilities in Accra leading to the prohibitive rental prices recorded consistently over the period. This again demonstrates how huge and promising the prospects of real estate investment are, in Ghana using the capital city in particular as a destination

Besides, Ghana’s sudden transformation into Africa’s Hub for Tertiary Education also contributes significantly to the sector investment opportunities. According to the National Council for Tertiary Education (2016)Ghana has positioned itself as one of the major providers of quality higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa. For the past decade, Ghana has enacted policies, which have indicated to the global community, the strong intention to enhance the competitiveness of our tertiary education system. For this reason, the quota-based admission policy for foreign students was lifted in both private and public institutions. This opened the floodgate to students and faculty of countries within Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea, Gabon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Zambia, Gambia, Rwanda and some East and southern African Countries. This trend has skyrocketed the housing demand in the cities making property investment in Ghana exceptionally profitable. The trend gave birth to Airbnb which has gained its popularity in recent times, a term given to short term rentals for private residential facilities often targeted at consultants, business men, students, diplomats’ expatriates et cetera. Airbnb within the city of Accra is one of the rewarding property investment portfolios currently. Last but not least, Ghana’s rapid population growth is another index that drives housing demand significantly. The current population in 2024 stood at 35million approximately and is projected to reach 39million by 2030 as against a projected housing deficit of 4.2million by same year. Mention is not made yet of the black race around the world who are tracing their root back home and many settlings in and naturalizing in Ghana because of the political stability the country has enjoyed since independence.

Author: Daniel Kontie (Email: d.kontie@acecnltd.com, Contact: +233209032280)

• Real Estate and Construction Consultant, Ghana
• CEO, Africa Continental Engineering & Construction Network Ltd (ACECN LTD)
• National President, World Sustainable Built Environment and Generative Artificial Intelligence Forum (WSBE-GenAIF)
• National president, Ghana Institution of Sustainable and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GhISBE-GenAI)