Youth create real estate location website

How about using your phone to browse properties located hundreds of kilometres away instead of going to search physically?

And how about getting the exact geographical location of a house or plot you are interested in using Google Maps to be sure it is located at a place you like?

Those are the questions that three young men asked themselves three years ago, and now they have 2ishi.com to show for it.

Kuria Karanja and Andrew Gacharah, two cousins both aged 28, teamed up with 26-year-old Patrick Mwangi to create a website that they believe can enable a buyer get property without hassle.

Their unique selling point, they say, is the incorporation of a mapping feature that has made them invest in a camera that tracks geographical co-ordinates of a place it captures.

BIG IDEAS

Every property listed on the site is photographed with the camera and that makes it possible for a buyer to locate its exact position using Google Maps. That, according to Karanja, enables a user to study the features around it to enable them form an informed decision.

If you use their mobile app, the system automatically traces where you are and informs you of available property nearest to you.

It took them a month to get a listing on the site but as of November, they had over 300 hundred posts targeting middle-income and high-end buyers.

“Gacharah, a Web developer, had told me that he was open to big tech ideas. In our brainstorming, we noticed the lack of quality real estate portals in Kenya and decided to develop one that had an amazing user interface as well as flawless functionality. It has been a whirlwind from then on,” said Karanja who spoke on behalf of the three.

He added that the idea was borrowed from US websites Zillow and Trulia, same as India’s housing.com.

“We have invested over Sh300,000 in the business so far. We are yet to make returns as we are still not charging agents who list property on the site. We will do that when we gain traction,” he stated.

Karanja, who is in charge of products at the company, said it has not been all smooth in the search for capital and keeping the business afloat.

“Funding of start-ups in Kenya is still in its infancy. We hardly have mainstream venture capitalists or angel investors that budding techpreneurs can turn to for financial backing or mentorship.  But discipline, hard work and the desire to create superior products has seen us through,” he stated.

The young entrepreneurs say their diverse educational background enables them come up with unique ideas.

Karanja is a graduate in computer technology from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Gacharah has a diploma in computer engineering from Botho College in Gaborone while Mwangi holds a land economics degree.

Gacharah is the wiz kid of the company, charged with building all user platforms. In July, he released the company’s Android app targeting clients who would prefer searching their property using mobile phones. Mwangi is charged with recruiting new agents, especially to Nairobi.

The company’s long-term plan is to rake in returns from diverse sources.

REAL ESTATE APP

“Planned revenue streams for the business include agent subscriptions, on-site advertising and partnerships with financial lending institutions,” Karanja said.

Based at Highway Towers in Nakuru, the three say they are poised to do even more in the coming days, top among the agenda being an app for real estate agents.

“An app for real estate agents is soon coming out. It will allow agents to upload their listings from their mobile devices and map them automatically, a first in Kenya.

“We are constantly trying to find ways to make the lives of those relevant to our business convenient. For now though, we need to do one thing right and that’s make house hunting, especially for the younger generation, hassle free,” concluded Karanja.