Africa is growing through its cities. And every day, as people flock to urban centers in search of opportunity and change, the demand for housing grows. With an annual urbanization rate of 3.5% over the past two decades, Africa’s cities are the fastest growing in the developing world. Currently, about 40% of the continent’s one billion people live in cities and towns; and it is estimated that in the next few years, some African cities will be home to as much as 85% of their country’s population. Difficult to contemplate in the abstract, these numbers have a very local feel. Africa’s cities are crowded and vibrant spaces. The residential opportunity is obvious.

The observation is reinforced by the economic context. With higher peaks and lower troughs, African markets offer a very real opportunity for global investors wanting more than traditional markets can offer. And this growth story is only just starting. Across the continent, new discoveries of oil, natural gas, and minerals are promising to completely transform national balance sheets, giving policymakers the fiscal confidence they only dreamed of before. This is giving rise to increasing investment in infrastructure – in transport routes and hubs, energy power stations, and telecommunications networks – which themselves stimulate all sorts of backward and forward linkages along the value chain.