[Interview] Kayode Jesuseun, Founder, Whatproperty.ng, Nigeria
Kayode Jeruseun is founder, Whatproperty.ng, a real estate property platform for the Nigerian market.
His interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce What Property?
Whatproperty.ng is a breakthrough property search technology to find your home easily, quickly and freely in Lagos. We specialize in property search technology to provide hassle-free house hunting experience to our clients in order to save them time and money. For this objective our advanced property search engine is easy-to-use, intuitive and friendly to assist home buyers, property renters and property owners to achieve their goals respectively.
What are the USP’s of your business?
We are offering credible and stress-free house hunting experience in Lagos. In fact, you see every property in Lagoseasily, quickly and freely. No registration fee. No need for multiple agents. No sales pressure, it is a fraud-free transaction guaranteed.
Why did you start What Property?
I noticed that millions of house hunters especially in Lagos are highly frustrated and disappointed with street agents (quacks really) who are fond of exaggerating about property features and location in order to make money by charging prospective property seekers for registration fee before physical inspection. I thought it would be smart create property search technology to eradicate fraudulent property agents and ease the frustration of house hunters by virtually inspecting any property on our platform in a matter of minutes without paying a dime.
What did you do before starting What Property?
Before whatproperty.ng, I had to work with a couple of real estate firms in the country for over 6 years and received the best training in the industry to understand the Nigeria real estate market as well as Lagos real estate market. I had been privileged to handle several property sales, property management and real estate consultancy successfully.
What can be done by entrepreneurs and government to stimulate the business environment in Nigeria?
I think entrepreneurs should embrace the technology to solve problems in our environment. There are so many tools available today in Nigeria that did not exist a decade ago. Government on the other hand could support and implement favorable policies to make the business environment conductive to start, thrive and grow. We need to develop a sense of self-reliance in the youth.
Do you believe Social Media and the Internet to be a plus to the business environment, as it applies to your industry?
Yes, it has greatly improved customers’ services, marketing of company products and services in recent times. Most companies have embraced the social media and internet to continue to create awareness for their business. In fact, most of our direct properties have been given to us via the internet by the property owners with proof of ownership.
What can you say about the targets, plans and ambitions of What Property for the second half of 2015?
We aim to continue improving our unique property search technology because it is the best way to search for thousands of properties freely, easily and quickly from the comfort of your home or office. We are also working to launch our new mobile app and mobile version with a unique set of functionalities to make house hunting experience inspiring and fraud-free before the year runs out. We have strategies in place to capture and verify properties to better serve our clients. It is a busy year for us.