Evolving Real Estate By Putting it on the Blockchain: A Look at Seso Global Proptech Platform Disrupting the Status Quo
The second episode of our podcast BuildUp Africa explores the African real estate landscape vis-à-vis ownership, weighing its vast economic potential, and the technology advancing it. Live on our podcast, George Payne speaks with Daniel Bloch, CEO of Seso Global Limited, the company at the forefront of creating a more secure and transparent real estate market in Africa.
Tune in to the podcast here — BuildUp Africa S1E2; Evolving Real Estate By Putting it on The Blockchain
Impact of Proptech on Africa’s Real Estate Economy
The real estate industry has been revolutionized by proptech (property technology). An innovative solution that has transformed the way we buy, sell, and manage properties. Players in the industry can maximise resources with technological tools and applications to offer services including property search, financing, management, construction, virtual tours, online mortgage applications, smart home technology, etc.
Proptech has highly influenced the recent boom in the African real estate market. With a growing middle class and urbanization, the demand for housing and commercial real estate is rising in several African cities, such as Lagos, Nairobi, and Accra. Over the last few decades, the industry recorded an annual increase of 3.3% in revenue generated and the Proptech sector raised over $29.9M in VC funding over the past 3 years, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya leading the way. This infusion of capital is expected to accelerate the growth of the Proptech industry in Africa and further boost the real estate economy.
Decentralised Proptech
Proptech is also leveraging blockchain technology to make real estate transactions more secure and transparent. Blockchain-based proptech platforms use smart contracts to automate transactions, eliminating the need for intermediaries and reducing the risk of fraud. These platforms also allow for the tokenization of assets, enabling fractional ownership of properties and providing greater liquidity in the real estate market.
One of the companies spearheading proptech is Seso Global. In our podcast series “BuildUp Africa, we speak with Daniel Bloch the co-Founder and CEO at Seso Global, a company building core infrastructure to not only enable the tokenization of real estate but enhance land registry and facilitate the development and expansion of the African real estate market.
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Seso Global Solution
Seso Global is a trusted African property marketplace that provides innovative and unique services to the real estate market on its blockchain proptech. It is a one-stop shop for digital real estate transactions, with a focus on ensuring trust throughout the entire value chain.
Seso’s services include due diligence, insurance, independent valuation, property management, and design articles. They offer a seamless digital experience augmented with physical support to create an optimal buyer experience. Seso Global understands the importance of digitization but also appreciates the need for buyers to interact with a trusted property broker.
Unique User Experience
Seso Global simplifies and secures real estate investment and purchasing in Africa by offering a two-part solution. The first part is a custom-built CRM for property management, while the second part is a verified marketplace called Seso Global. By creating a digital registry of verified properties, the platform provides a trustworthy platform for real estate transactions that involve all stakeholders in the ecosystem, such as lawyers, property developers, buyers, and the government.
This holistic approach ensures the verifiability of the registry. Now operating in several Sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, etc., the long-term vision of Seso Global is to create a trusted and transactable registry that can serve as the basis of a government or traditional registry and democratise real estate across the whole of Africa.
The Future of Real Estate Investment in Africa
The future of proptech in Africa looks bright, with continued growth and investment in the sector. With the Global proptech Market size expected to reach $64.3 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 15.4% CAGR, the Nigeria Proptech Association has said that the country’s proptech industry’s market size has reached an all-time high of $11.7bn and is expected to hit approximately $23.7bn by the year 2027.
One area where blockchain technology is expected to significantly impact is property financing. Countries with more established real estate markets and crypto adoption, such as Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, are likely to have higher proptech adoption rates.
By using blockchain-based platforms for crowdfunding and fractional ownership, investors can access real estate opportunities that were previously out of reach. In addition to the real estate industry, blockchain technology is expected to have a significant impact on the legal sector.
Platforms for property ownership and transfer can also be used by lawyers to streamline the conveyancing process, reducing the time and cost of property transactions. Overall, the future of proptech in Africa looks bright, with continued investment and innovation in the sector. As blockchain technology continues to mature and become more widely adopted, we can expect to see even more exciting developments in the years ahead.
