Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, yesterday tasked operatives in the African real estate sector to work collaboratively through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) towards reducing the housing deficits and growing the sector.

He also highlighted the need to create enabling policy environments and transparent governance frameworks, noting that Africa’s real estate future would not shape itself and would not be transformed by foreigners but attained by the collaborative efforts of the government and practitioners in the private sector.

Dangiwa spoke at the opening of the 24th yearly conference of the African Real Estate Society (AfRES) entitled: “Shaping the future of African real estate markets: exploring the opportunities” hosted in Lagos.

The forum was attended by the President of AfRES, Dr Kunle Awolaja, representatives of AfRES from East, South, and West Africa, and other affiliated associations globally.

The Minister, who was represented by the Federal Controller of Housing, Lagos, Mrs Olayiwola Funmilayo, argued that there was a need to mobilise the capital and innovative financing for long-term impact, embrace data, research, and technology to improve planning and reduce risks, and build partnerships that are not extractive but inclusive and transformative.