Kenya and Nigeria lead African markets in terms of transparency and data sharing in the real estate market, according to a study by real estate investment company Jones Lang LaSalle.

Data Sharing and Transparency to Boost African Growth

Data collection is at the heart of the growth of the African real estate market as it enables outside investors to gain insight into these markets as well as provide a level of investor confidence that emerging markets investors need.

There are a lot of efforts underway to drive data transparency across Africa. For example, the 9th Annual API Summit & Expo – taking place in Johannesburg on September 20 and 21, 2018 – aims to bring together data experts across Africa and the world to share insights on best practices in data collection.

Nonetheless, data experts continue to face challenges in data collection in Africa. Some data collected is completely obsolete while other data can be very dynamic. The hope is that the summit will create a forum where data experts from across the globe can learn from each other and can help to drive data transparency. This will mean that no country gets to hold data hostage from the rest as they all benefit from the sharing.

Different African markets thrive in various industries and creating a platform for sharing of data will go a long way in stimulating growth across Africa.

The real estate growth in Kenya and Nigeria is a good example of how far data sharing impacts growth across markets, according to Jeremy Kelly, a director within the Global Research Programmes Team at Jones Lang LaSalle.

Countries can use data from other countries to make even ‘smarter’ decisions based on the key learnings that they get from the shared data. One country can not thrive in every single industry, hence the importance of continuously sharing data and driving that transparency. This will encourage data-backed decisions rather than making decisions based on intuition.

Blockchain and Data Transparency

While there are several technology solutions for data collection and storage, blockchain technology stands out as one of the most applicable due to its decentralised and immutable nature, which allows for the secure recording, storing and transfer of any type of data. It is not surprising, therefore, that several blockchain-based projects are on the way to record land titles across the continent.

“Africa has an opportunity at this point to utilise blockchain for land registries or transactions; ‘smart’ buildings and infrastructure for facilities management or repair; or new database capabilities for collaborative data sharing between market participants to jumpstart the traditional methods of improving market data and building real estate markets that are fit for the future,” Kelly added.