One of the biggest issues with Kenya's real estate industry is the unavailability or inadequacy of data and information to guide and inform various processes.
If you ask any developer in Kenya what some of the biggest challenges are, they will probably tell you about the lengthy and unpredictable approval processes they go through, something that derails even the best planned projects.
Delays such as waiting for county government approvals, environmental clearances, or other regulatory permits often lead to missed deadlines and, in turn causes higher project costs and uncertainty for investors.
Yet despite these common frustrations, there has been little data showing exactly where these delays occur and how long they take.
That could soon change.
The Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA) has launched a pilot of the Development Approval Tracking and Support (DATS) System, a platform that is designed to collect real-time information from developers about their approval experiences.
The idea is for developers to submit information about their ongoing or recent approval processes and provide the association with the necessary information to build a database showing how different approval authorities and counties are performing.
Instead of relying on individual complaints or isolated experiences, the industry will have evidence showing where approvals take the longest, which agencies create the biggest bottlenecks, and where improvements are needed most.
With reliable data, it becomes easier for KPDA to engage government agencies and advocate for reforms based on measurable evidence.
The findings could also help regulators identify inefficiencies within their own processes, that is, if they do not already know.
Over time, the platform could contribute to a more predictable approval environment, making it easier for developers to plan projects, manage costs, and deliver housing and commercial developments on schedule and in a predictable environment.
However, the success of this pilot will largely depend on participation from developers across the country. The more approval experiences that are recorded, the clearer the picture will become and the stronger the case for meaningful reforms.
If people take part in it, the initiative could become an important tool in improving the efficiency of Kenya's development approval process and making it easier to build across the country.
