Emma Miloyo, President Architectural Association of Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 – An online platform that brings together players in the construction industry has been launched in Kenya.
iBUILD allows contractors, workers, architects, lenders and suppliers to communicate and collaborate in a controlled ecosystem.
Ronald Omyonga, Chief Relationship Officer, said iBUILD includes training modules for workers and contractors to increase skill sets.
“The iBUILD platform provides home owners with the ability to manage projects, from basic repairs to new home construction. Customers will be able to bid their projects to multiple contractors, create milestones for payments and verify work completion prior to payment,” said Omyonga.
He added that the system has an internal wallet system attached to individual Mpesa accounts for ease and security of loading and cashing out of the iBUILD wallet.
“iBUILD provides rating opportunities for both contractors to rate and review workers and customers to rate and review contractors so that bad actors are weeded out and the platform quickly becomes a place for both consumers and contractors to find quality construction professionals.”
iBUILD Global is based in Washington, D.C. and has been incorporated since 2017. The organization began its first testing in Kenya in 2017 and is now preparing to launch into the open market. Other piloting partners are located in South Africa, Nigeria, India and Indonesia.
Kenya will be the first full market launch and iBUILD hopes that Kenya will demonstrate strong leadership in how civil society can address the dearth of affordable housing and lack of residential construction activity through an empowering marketplace with the ability to track work history, transact transparently and build with the utmost confidence.
