The making of Diaspora House

I’ve long been fascinated by real estate. Initially, I found it boring—plain and unexciting. You buy a house, rent it out, or live in it. That’s it. But I noticed something: Africans in the diaspora love investing in real estate. It’s a safe, tangible asset. It wasn’t until last year that my perspective changed drastically.

In February 2024, I traveled to Nairobi and spent time with Cobih, one of my closest friends. He mentioned how he was buying apartments in Nairobi and planned to retire once he reached $10,000 per month in rental income. That got me thinking—this wasn’t a bad retirement plan. Coincidentally, my mom’s retirement plan involved completing her properties in Togo before moving back. Several of my uncles and aunties had done the same, relying on rental income.

Real Estate as the Preferred Asset Class

When I started building Borderless, the vision was to enable co-investment in multiple asset classes. At HoaQ, I gained experience co-investing in startups, and Borderless makes investment execution seamless. Through countless conversations, I realized that while many in the diaspora didn’t understand startup investing, real estate has always excited them. I spoke to a VC in London who said that her mom and her friends already co-invest but use excel and WhatsApp.

I went deep into research and discovered that Africa’s real estate market is valued at $16 trillion, with residential real estate making up 80% of the total value. Many investors I spoke to already used real estate to balance their portfolios since it’s perceived as a stable asset.

With over 41 million Africans in the diaspora, I started wondering: Could we create an investment model that makes real estate accessible? Diaspora investors understand it better than other asset classes and see it as a safe, tangible retirement plan.

The Short-Term Rental Opportunity

Africa was the obvious destination, but how do we make money? I reflected on my own spending—staying in Airbnbs across Africa has been costly . I typically spend 3-4 months a year on the continent, mostly in the Big Four (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana). I know at least 100 people who do the same due to work.

Then, there’s the December travel wave:

• Detty December crew (Ghana, Nigeria)

• Dezemba crew (South Africa)

• Summer bunnies (Kenya)

Each year, over 1 million diaspora travelers visit Africa for events like Afrochella (Ghana), Nyege Nyege (Uganda), and December in Lagos, driving demand for short-term rentals.

That’s when the lightbulb lit up!

I recorded the podcast below and spoke about the Diaspora House vision with Alice Kanjejo on her podcast.

Building a Diaspora Real Estate Community

I reached out to Cobih, Thandeka, and Dammy with an idea: What if we pooled capital from individuals, acquired properties across the continent, and rented them out to diaspora travelers? The rental income would be distributed to investors annually. I had experience in structuring investment infrastructure, but not the asset class itself.

By Q2 2024, we sent out a survey to gauge interest. 61 people responded, and we learned:

• Many were already co-investing informally in real estate.

• The top cities for investment were Nairobi, Cape Town, Lagos, Accra, Dakar, London and Dubai.

• The average amount people were willing to invest was $5,000.

Based on the feedback, we refined the model and landed on a name - Diaspora House.

We drafted a memo and shared it publicly. Check it out here.

Executing the Vision: Nairobi First

We created a WhatsApp community for quick feedback. Nairobi, known as the soft landing city for first-time travelers to Africa, became our focus. The city’s real estate laws are straightforward, and Cobih, having previously bought property there, had valuable insights.

We started scouting properties, consulting experts, and engaging with the community. Soon, we shortlisted three properties and presented them to the group. At this stage, the WhatsApp community was thriving, with multiple city-specific groups.

After selecting a property, we conducted due diligence and invited firm investment commitments. The power of trust played a big role: everyone was no more than two degrees of separation from the organizers or someone in the community. About 30% of the investors came from HoaQ.

Our First Investment: The Nairobi Apartment

We received 30 commitments, and 21 people invested. We raised $110,000 to acquire a two-bedroom apartment in Nairobi, which is now live on Airbnb.

The first investors were incredibly diverse:

• They live in the UK, USA, UAE, Ireland, Canada, France, Nigeria, Germany, South Africa, and Kenya.

• Most are of African descent, but we also have an Italian, a Dutch national, and a Singaporean.

• Each invested $5,000, except one who invested $10,000.

• The group consists of 13 men and 8 women.

It’s incredible to see a global community come together to co-own an asset. The process wasn’t entirely smooth - the start of anything great rarely is - but we learned valuable lessons. Many aspects were manual, but Borderless will streamline the process as the platform evolves. I plan to write more the various processes such as capital collection, furnishing, etc… Until then…

Check out our first Diaspora House Property on Airbnb here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scaling the Vision

We are currently funding a second property in Nairobi and have begun viewings for our first Cape Town property. You can learn more below:

• Nairobi (60% Funded)

• Cape Town (Currently viewing properties)

The long-term goal? To create a diaspora-owned real estate portfolio across Africa, enabling seamless investment in tangible assets. With Africa’s real estate market valued at $16 trillion and over $100 billion in annual remittances, the opportunity is big.

Join Us

If you’re interested in building your own Diaspora House, we’re happy to share our process and provide technology to make it seamless. Join the Borderless waitlist to stay updated.

If you’re traveling to Nairobi, please consider booking our first Diaspora House! Also tell your friends about us.

Join our WhatsApp community. You can get discounted bookings as a community member and earn a commission (real cash) when you refer a friend.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the first Diaspora House is finally live!

I’m building Borderless, the infrastructure for diaspora investment communities, for which I’m raising a pre-seed. I also co-founded HoaQ, the largest network of African diaspora angel investors, and helped launch Diaspora House, a community of diaspora real estate investors. I’m active on LinkedIn, so let’s connect there.

Thank you for reading.