NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 15 – BuyRentKenya (BRK) and Building in Kenya (BIK) have partnered to offer virtual real estate courses aimed at educating Kenyans on construction and the phases involved in it.
Speaking during the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two firms, BuyRentKenya CEO Elizabeth Costabir affirmed that it will help supplement the goal of creating a one-stop informational resource for users.
“Users are increasingly seeking additional information on all aspects of real estate from buying, selling property, and the construction process. This course will adequately address these needs by ensuring users have the right information to make informed choices,” she said.
Under the agreement, BIK will develop the content for the online course, while BRK will use its wide reach and platform to disseminate this information.
The content which will be developed by BIK will help fill the gap in knowledge on construction and real estate through professionally customised webinars and workshops that will be available on BRK’s platform.
Information on real estate and building is very vital, especially at a time when several buildings have collapsed in the country. This is attributed to the use of substandard materials, non-compliance to building standards and greed and impunity in planning departments.
Last year in August, a five-storey residential building that was under construction collapsed in Kihara, Gachie. Another building in Membley, Ruiru collapsed in May this year killing two.
According to an assessment done by the National Construction Authority (NCA), poor workmanship is the leading cause of building collapse in the country.
These findings come from an evaluation that involved 14,895 buildings, 10,791 of which were found unsafe and needed to be demolished.
According to BIK co-founder Emma Miloyo, addressing challenges that developers face in the stages of construction will be the main focus of the course.
“Our experience with developers of various structures at the individual, family and corporate level and who have the varied experience be it in developing for the first time or are serial developers has shown that there is an information gap that has proven quite expensive due to making avoidable mistakes. This course will guide developers to build better, ethically and profitably,” stated Miloyo.
Users of BuyRent Kenya will get a discount on all courses on construction in Kenya that will be available on the platform.
