The untapped potential in the property industry can be harnessed by Property Management Companies and Property Technology (PropTech) startups by activating data-driven services and technology to meet customers needs, the Managing Director Remita Payment Services Limited (RPSL), Mr. ‘Deremi Atanda has advised.
He outlined how innovation through data and tech deployment can help Property Management Companies see new and existing business opportunities in the market to drive their operational growth.
He urged operators to think ahead of regulation, go into right partnerships and embrace strategic advisory services that would leapfrog their operations into the new growth phase.
Mr. Atanda, who was one of the panelists at the Good Tenant Conference held on Tuesday, December 5 , in Lagos, spoke on the theme: “How Property Management Companies Can Maximize Technology for ROI and Scaling Impact”.
Remita is becoming a data company, ready to support the sector in achieving its set goals and growth trajectory.
He said: “Remita is becoming data company. Data can tell you a lot of things about the industry and the tenants. We are at the threshold of transforming the real estate in Nigeria using data and technology and supporting Startups that will be going into the sector”.
Other panelists- Co-Founder, Good Tenants, Adekunle Jinadu; Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, Terragon Group, Osarugue Awani; Chief Business Director, Tremendous Limited, Charlotte Oduniade-Akeju, among others, agreed on the role data aggregation, partnerships and technology can play in the PropTech industry.
For instance, PropTech startups can access Remita Powerful ecosystem, expertise, and connections to accelerate their business success.
Remita’s comprehensive suite of tools and resources are designed to help Startups succeed at every stage of their business plans.
The tech giant is already working with some of Nigeria’s largest financial service providers and on-boarding Property Tech startups into its network will create the needed mileage for the entrants’ business success.
For instance, while the Remita Interbank Transfer Service allows startups to process real-time payments for customers directly on their platform using trusted banking rails, the Payment Gateway API authorises them to receive money via a variety of channels including cards, bank transfers, USSD etc.
The Remita Direct Debit API help startups collect loan repayments, subscription payments and other recurrent payments from their customers at predefined intervals while the Merchant Collections API enables them extend access to over 5,000+ businesses on the Remita platform to their customers using a single integration.
There is also the Vending Suite which allows startups to pay for airtime, data, cableTV and electricity on their platform through a single integration and terminals allows them to issue terminals to businesses on their platform for offline collections and the KYC/Data Checks that enable startups to perform KYC on data verification on customers.
For partnerships, the startups working with Remita will be introduced to banks, Corporates, Ecosystem Players among others and will be able to access seasoned technology experts who will tutor them at bi-Monthly office hours or curated sessions at Masterclasses on key issues round their operations.
Atanda explained that these services are readily available, which Property Tech startups can explore to enter the next phase of transformation.
Nigerian real estate emerges as a compelling investment opportunity driven by robust growth. In 2022, the sector contributed over N28 trillion to the nation’s GDP, a testament to its economic significance.
The emergence of Property Technology (PropTech), the application of technology to create and deliver innovative real estate products and services to a wide range of users is expected the sector’s contribution to GDP by over 10% annually.
Experts believe that PropTech has the potential to trigger the same or higher impact as seen in Telecoms and FinTech, now revolutionizing the financial services, digital marketing and entertainment segments of the economy.
The deployment of technology will make the Nigerian real estate sector more transparent; boost liquidity through access to flexible credit; cut fraud through increased title integrity; aggregate demand to drive greater homeownership and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks limiting sectoral growth.
With a population exceeding 200 million people and an adult population estimated at 100 million, Nigeria remains a huge and unrealized market with 70% of GDP generated in the informal sector and urbanization rate standing at 50%.
But unlocking the market will require effective data aggregation; transparent processes; increased efficiency; quality standards and a simplified credit system.
Also, the Nigerian real estate industry sits on a large data site, that should be digitised and brought into a pool that everybody can access.
Like every other segment of the economy, innovation will always be ahead of regulation and operators in the real estate sector should be ahead of regulators in exploring the huge potential in the segment of the economy.
The Property Management Companies that fail to innovate will be left behind in the new growth phase of the industry that will be data and technology-driven.
This is because technology is going into the real estate, and defining how the sector works. There are some people who are not into real estate, but will be supporting with data. That is where technology startups come in to disrupt the sector,” he said.
The industry also requires that Property Management Companies work with other stakeholders to create Bank Verification Number (BVN) for real estate.
The move will enable the operators to know about the tenants, tenants will know about their neighbours, the houses available, who is renting where, where they work, how long they stay in that place, those that have transited from being tenants to landlords, among others.
Remita identified with the Africa Startup Festival and identified with what they are doing in supporting startup with technology.
With Remita always available wherever there is payment, the company is strategic in the new real estate growth phase that will be driven by technology and will be available in offering direct debit for leases, rentals, individuals, SMEs and corporates, lots more.
