By Esther Onyegbula
It was indeed a milestone for women in Africa at the official launch of Africa women in Real Estate roundtable AWIRE as major stakeholders gathered at this year’s edition of Real Estate Unite conference, organised by 3Invest, to address issues affecting the sector.

The discussions centered on the stance of women in real estate industry, ideological restrictions or lack of business acumen, facilitating the lucrative career path for women in Nigeria, snare deal, slice the prejudice, landed properties and women possessory rights in Nigeria women funds and real estate ownership.

Speaking at the launch Ruth Obih, CEO 3invest, said that the launch of African Women in Real Estate (AWIRE) is to address factors that affect women’s participation in the business of real estate and property development; and identify steps towards creating a strategic plan to assist women in leveraging existing tools and resources and promote shared prosperity for all”.

Encouraging women in the sector to move with the trend, Tosin Ajose, (Detail Solicitor) said that “women need to conquer fear and believe that they can succeed in real estate. They need to be wise and curtail their spending. Revisit their financial goals all the time and make plans for every dime they get. Adding that as a matter of urgency women in real estate must invest in books and educational resources that are real estate related, acquiring knowledge consistently is the only way they can prove themselves and remain relevant especially in a male dominated terrain like real estate. We must make conscious effort to improve and learn new skills”.

Citing the Supreme Court ruling stopping the discriminatory tradition against women and the girl-child that forbids a female from inheriting her late father’s estate, the key note speaker Udo-Maryanne Okonjo, CEO Fine & Country, West Africa noted that “there is nothing de-enfranchising women in Nigeria from investing in real estate. Rather women should take advantage of the incredible opportunities that abound in the sector, which is why international firms that are coming Nigeria to invest in real estate sector. Presently nothing is preventing women in Africa from being key players in Nigeria real estate, from Kenya to South Africa to China women are investing in real estate”.

Emphasizing the unique strength of the average woman, Udo notes that “although the men bring a huge part of the deal to the table, women are just as important as they bring a part of that equation that completes it. There are certain ways women do business and reason why women do business which has a lot to do with their personal lifestyle. Men are usually very focuses which is why they determined to succeed but women define success differently, for them success includes result at the home front.  There are so many ways women relate to different issues. Success for women in real estate must go beyond profit and loss.