by Shane Henson — May 27, 2013—Twenty cities across Africa will present key opportunities for commercial real estate growth by 2020 as retailers, corporates and real estate investors target growing urban centers in countries with solid GDP (gross domestic product) growth prospects, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a global professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services.
The company notes that while poor real estate transparency continues to constrain many of these cities, there are potentially huge pay-offs if they can improve regulatory environments and transaction processes.
The 20 African cities are:
- Angola: Luanda
- Egypt: Alexandria, Cairo
- Ethiopia: Addis Ababa
- Ghana: Accra
- Kenya: Mombasa, Nairobi
- Morocco: Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat, Tangier
- Mozambique: Maputo
- Nigeria: Abuja, Lagos
- South Africa: Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg
- Tanzania: Dar es Salaam
- Tunisia: Tunis
- Zambia: Lusaka
The 20 cities collectively represent an urban population of 70 million people, and 11 of the cities are located in just four countries:
- Egypt: Cairo, the most populous city in Africa, and a key target for developers, despite political and economic uncertainties;
- Morocco: Casablanca, the largest city in the Maghreb region and an emerging outsourcing hub;
- Nigeria: Lagos, the commercial hub of Africa’s second-largest economy and a city witnessing rapid GDP growth at over 7 percent; and
- South Africa: The continent’s only transparent real estate market.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, Africa’s strengthening regional economies and improving operating environment, rapid urbanization, and emerging middle class consumerism present strong opportunities for established international retailers to expand their footprints and enter new markets. Improving business confidence and increasing cross-border investment also are predicted to support corporate outsourcing into Africa, as many corporates implement long-term strategic growth plans.
