Kenyan diaspora property, investment exhibition tour set to start in Canada
George Wachiuri, the chairman and chief executive officer of Optiven, a real estate company, at the 2016 Kenya Diaspora Conference held in June in Atlanta, Georgia in the US. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Event is organised by Re/Max Heritage Kenya.
Its guest of honour will be Kenya’s High Commissioner to Canada John Lanyasunya.
Among its keynote speakers will be Optiven’s chief executive officer George Wachiuri.
The theme for the tour is “Unlocking Investment Opportunities with you”.
One of the biggest Kenyan diaspora property and investment exhibition tours to be held abroad is set to start on Thursday in Toronto, Canada.
Kenyan-based property and real estate organisations including Optiven, Ukulima Sacco and Stima Investments will participate in the tour titled Re/Max Heritage World Diaspora Expo, which is expected to run through October 3, 2016 in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cities.
Others are AMS Properties, Higher Education Loans Board, Pearl Properties, National Housing Commission, Almond Groove properties, Heri Homes, Arbedare Hills and Re/Max Heritage.
The event is organised by Re/Max Heritage Kenya.
Its guest of honour will be Kenya’s High Commissioner to Canada John Lanyasunya.
Among the keynote speakers will be Optiven’s chief executive officer George Wachiuri.
The theme for the tour is “Unlocking Investment Opportunities with you”.
According to the press release, organisers say the diaspora now constitutes an affluent block of the Kenyan elite, contributing three per cent of Kenya’s National gross domestic product, having overtaken key sectors of the economy such as tea, tourism and horticulture.
VISION 2030
“It is in recognition of this role and in accordance with the Vision 2030 that Re/Max Heritage World Diaspora Expo have put together this tour in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kenya Property Developers Association”, Maryanne Obwaka said in the press release.
Ms Obwaka said the organisers had invited various key interested parties in the property market to showcase opportunities to the diaspora in Canada with the aim of providing information on how and where to invest back at home.
“Exhibitors will bring a wealth of opportunity for diaspora interested in investing in private and public sector and also as an information centre for the initiatives and opportunities in both. They will get a golden chance to meet and interact with the Diaspora one on one, tell them more about their products and services and their role in the investments and business sectors,” she said.
She said Kenyans living in Canada are keen to contribute to the growth of Kenya’s economy – more than 30,000, 10,000, and 2,000 live in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, respectively.
“We will also hold a B2B (business-to-business) session together with the East Africa chamber of Commerce,” she said.
