Billionaire and Chairman of Ruparelia Group of Companies, Sudhir Ruparelia has advised youthful Ugandans to put their money in the real estate business because it’s one of the few businesses that can endure storms of Uganda’s economy.
In an exclusive interview with this website, the real estate mogul told Ugandans not to take the Real Estate business for granted. However, to those starting the business, he cautioned them against borrowing to start the real estate business since it’s a business that requires patience.
“First, try and grow according to the cash flow you have and are creating. It is probably the best option. Because the truth is said, opportunities come all the time, especially when you have good cash flow. Take those opportunities. So long as you have made the right plan, over the years your building or land value will grow massively”.
“You must allow some form of organic growth in your business. So long as you have a good amount of cash flow coming in, you mainly need to focus on the right location and the right plan, that’s all invest and plan right.”
He advised those having money to start investing in building condominiums because they are the future of housing in Kampala.
“Land in cities is getting more expensive, many are resorting to condos. The future I see is people will have upcountry homes and only do apartments in cities.”
Ruparelia is the chairman and founder of Ruparelia Group, one of Uganda’s major conglomerates, which is primarily involved in education, real estate development and management, hotels, resorts, floriculture and broadcasting.
Crane Management and Meera Investments, are two companies that have made Sudhir and his family Uganda’s largest private property owners, managers and developers for commercial and private real estate. The companies invest in office buildings, retail centres, industrial facilities, residential units, development projects among others.
CRANE MANAGEMENT SERVICES which has been in existence since 1996 is a professional property management company which manages a large portfolio of properties within Kampala and in towns like Jinja, Mbale, Mbarara to name a few. It manages all kinds of properties from commercial, industrial, residential to office blocks.
“C.M.S. is responding to the need of professional management services in the real estate sector at a time when Uganda is experiencing spectacular development within the real estate management industry,” says the group’s website.
On the other hand, MEERA INVESTMENTS was established in 1994. Its niche is innovative ideas in real estate, particularly in property development and construction.
“Meera Investments LTD, embraces effective and efficient solutions in all aspects of property development from design to finish, to achieve maximum usage and productivity, which makes us the biggest landlord and the leading property developer.” Says the group’s website.
Uganda’s real estate sector is an emerging market that is currently still in its infancy and one of the safest fields of investment in Uganda and has continued to grow at 5.6 percent over the last four years. The real estate in Uganda has grown tremendously over the past decade with many residential homes, business premises and office blocks being set up especially in the Kampala Area.
However, the sector since it’s still emerging it’s still facing challenges such as high cost of funding, lack of adequate funding to the sector, expensive land in urban areas, slow process of streamlining the land registry and lack of adequate well trained and experienced manpower to manage the sector.
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