GIDI IARC 2025: Experts Seek Accountability, Transparency in Africa’s Property Market

Real estate stakeholders are charting a new course for transparency and trust in Africa’s property market through policy making, bridging the communication gap, and fostering a coordinated real estate value chain, and increased realtors involvement.

The conversation around stakeholder accountability in Africa’s real estate sector took center stage on Day 1 of the GIDI Intra-Africa Realtors’ Conference 2025 in Kenya, where top industry leaders, developers, and strategic stakeholders gathered to chart a transparent and sustainable future for the continent’s real estate property market.

Focused on Strengthening Stakeholder Accountability in Africa’s Real Estate, for growth and returns, the session addressed deep-seated trust and regulatory challenges confronting Africa’s fast-growing real estate sector.

The speakers examined how developers, realtors, regulators, financiers, and clients can work together to create a market built on disclosure, data integrity, and public confidence.

Speaking during the panel discussion, a Pan-African entrepreneur and CEO of GIDI Real Estate Investment Limited, Tobi Akerele, emphasised that accountability must move from being an abstract principle to an operational culture.

“Realtors are often the first point of contact for clients. Their words shape perceptions, and those perceptions shape decisions. If we are going to talk about accountability, then realtors must also see themselves as custodians of credibility. This means verifying project details, asking the hard questions, and refusing to sell what they can’t defend in the public square,” Akerele said.

He stressed that the commercial pressure to close deals cannot supersede the responsibility to provide full disclosure on titles, approvals, and project realities, noting that “a single bad transaction can damage the image of the entire industry.”

Other speakers, including the CEO of Aceroyal Estates, Dr. Endurance Agonor, GMD of Springpet Homes, Dr. Kenneth Reginald, and Managing Partner of Strengths Africa, Oluseye Adepoju, underscored the need for peer-led accountability frameworks, stronger industry self-regulation, and the adoption of technology to make property information more transparent.

The panel also agreed that accountability must extend beyond compliance with government regulation, with Adepoju calling for industry-led systems that self-correct before regulators intervene.

For Akerele, improving accountability across the board will transform the market’s investment outlook.

“If we get accountability right, Africa’s real estate will become an investment magnet, not a cautionary tale. We won’t need to convince investors; the market will speak for itself,” he added.

The conversation reflects a broader shift in the continent’s real estate landscape — where trust, transparency, and operational discipline are increasingly seen as the pillars of sustainable growth.

Day 1 hosted the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development of Lagos State, Mr Mobolaji Ogunlende, who spoke on the role of African youths in real estate in driving continental prosperity.

Consequently, the forum reiterated that GIDI Real Estate continues to push for industry reforms and strategic collaborations across borders with the message from this year’s conference being clear as Africa’s real estate sector can no longer afford to be business as usual.