By G9ija
Real estate investors have called for more technology adoption in their business, to leapfrog the bottlenecks which bogged the industry in the past.
They used the opportunity of West African Property Investment, WAPI, summit in Lagos recently, to express their desire to advance the real estate business with technology.
They contended that only focused tech adoption in the real estate ecosystem in Nigeria will usher seamless processes.
The 8the annual WAPI event, held to identify investment opportunities across multiple subsectors, was sponsored by hospitality firms like Radisson Hotel Group and real estate firms like Pennek, Spleet, Novare, BuyLetLive among others.
Speaking to some of the experts who decried poor adoption of technology in the sector, they noted that Nigeria is coming up but that there is room for an improvement as adoption is still far below compared to developed countries.
For instance, Chief Operating Officer at an online real estate company, BuyLetLive.com, Modupe Agbolahan, said although the adoption of technology has been good because people now see technology as the way they can post their property online.
However, she said: “Nigeria is far back when it comes to technology, especially in the real estate industry.
She said: “Unlike before, to rent a house you go through an agent, you go around inspecting the property but with technology it’s easier and cheaper with N200 you can get data, browse the houses, and check their prices.
“So, our technology and engineering team have the best features that will ensure that the real estate industry and Nigeria at large is well positioned when it comes to tech.
“Our mission is simple, to ease and simplify the process of selling and buying in the real estate market, building a product that will simplify the process for all the parties, the users, agent, developers and everybody in the real estate eco system. We build a platform to simplify the process.
Also, Head, Marketing and Communications at Spleet, another proper technology company, Tofunmi Alo, said Spleet introduced innovative ways to transform real estate.
She said: “It provides people the opportunity to pay monthly. You can come online on SPLEET, find your house, and connect to the landlord or tenant, then pay monthly not yearly.”
Speaking at the WAPI Summit, she said: “We want to build a Spleet community. The event is an opportunity to meet with people and introduce our product to them. We will demo the product, answer questions and get feedback and meet others in the ecosystem.
“We began five years ago with a marketplace connecting landlords to tenants, but now we have a product called Verify and another product coming up next year.
She added, “Spleet is also with the aim to provide tools for landlords and agents, not just provide houses for tenants, but financing their rent for them. We plan to expand our product and service to other countries like Kenya, Ghana, and other African countries.
