Established to recognise and promote excellence in Africa’s rising real estate sector, the API Awards, have become a critical benchmark for measuring success for the industry. Awarded during the API Virtual Summit taking place 28 September 2020 – 02 October 2020. The awards provide peer recognition for the pioneering world class work and services being undertaken by the trailblazing real estate industry.
As the market and industry continues to grow in line with predicted GDP trajectories, the API Awards will assist in ensuring that the entire industry continues to champion the improvement of development standards and meets global best practices.
SELECTED FINALISTS ARE REQUIRED TO CONFIRM THEIR ATTENDANCE AT THE
2020 API SUMMIT TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN.
The awards are open to developers, professional teams, consultants, suppliers and property owners involved in the African real estate industry. To ensure impartiality and objectivity, the awards are judged by a panel of industry experts and thought leaders.
RECOGNISE
To recognize and reward excellence in the real estate and associated sectors.
ENCOURAGE
To encourage innovative real estate solutions within the industry.
ENHANCE
To enhance quality standards.
PROMOTE
To promote confidence in the real estate and property industry.
SAFEGUARD
To safeguard and strengthen interest of stakeholders in the industry.
PROVIDE
To provide a strategic and reputable platform of interaction for the different stakeholders in the industry.
Growing in scope, this year’s API awards has been expanded to cover 9 categories over 2 sections.
In light of recent disruptions to real estate development delivery due to Covid-19, the categories under the Development Section will not be considered for the 2020 API Awards, all submissions to date will be rolled over to the 2021 API Awards.
SECURE YOUR SPORT API SUMMIT VIRTUAL
28 SEPTEMBER – 02 OCTOBER 2020
Winning an API award provides a unique opportunity to showcase your project to the most influential players involved in Africa’s Real Estate market.
Step 1: Select your category
You can submit as many entries as you wish in the 16 categories, and one entry can be in more than one category as long as it meets all the eligibility requirements.
Step2: Pre-Entry Form
Pick your category and fill out the pre-entry form. The 16 categories are split into 2 sections (Personnel Categories and Services & Innovation Categories), if a section does not apply to your entry you can select ‘Next’ and find the relevant section.
It’s free of charge and takes a one minute to complete.
Step 3: Criteria Submission
You must email a criteria submission document alongside your Pre-Entry Form. This document must stipulate all the details requested under the criteria for each category. The criteria for each category are available here
Step 4: Additional Materials
Ensure that you submit the required materials (photos, maps, video, career profile, company profile. etc) in order to be legible.
All entries must be submitted by the 31stof August 2020 at the latest. You will be then notified if you are a finalist.
Email your entry to [email protected]
ABOUT BEING AN API AWARDS WINNER
As an API awards winner, you will receive the praise of your industry peers, which will translate into new business opportunities.
You will gain a competitive edge provides by API Events’ publications, press releases, and critically, during the awards ceremony held on the 28 September 2020.
PROMOTING YOUR AWARD
Award winners also have the opportunity to be highlighted as an award-winning project on API Events’ various websites, events and platforms, which include press releases distributed by API Events, prime placement of the API Summit and Group websites and social media channels, editorial coverage in African Property Skyline which is electronically distributed to 25,000 property stakeholders, and through targeted email marketing campaigns to API Events database.
All winners receive a framed certificate, trophy, email signature, web banner and a window vinyl, and any additional customised and branded marketing collateral on request.
Finalists are mentioned in the Awards presentation, due to the high level of competition and interest in the API Awards, being recognised as a finalist in this African property defining awards provides significant exposure for brands and their teams.
Tayo Odunsi is a Chartered Surveyor with over 10 years of professional real estate experience. He holds an undergraduate degree in Estate management from the University of Lagos, a MSc. Real estate finance and investment degree from the Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK as well as a MBA from the Imperial College London. Some of his previous roles were at FBN Capital, GTHomes and ARM Investment Managers. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the African Real Estate Society. He also serves as a Director at Ventures Park, the leading co-working space in the heart of Abuja. He’s an ardent art lover, valuer and curator. Tayo enjoys soft rock, gardening and mentoring young people.
Mrs. Inutu Zaloumis-Kalumba joined Centum in January 2018 as the MD of Two Rivers. Inutu responsible for the successful delivery of Two Rivers Development as a mixed- use development complimenting the city of Nairobi. Under her mandate, she oversees Two Rivers Lifestyle Centre (Two Rivers Mall and Office Towers), Two Rivers Utility companies as well as the engagement with Joint Venture partners, third party developers to ensure a successful delivery of the vision of the Two Rivers City. Prior to joining Centum, Madam Inutu was the Co- founder and Managing Director in Pam Golding Properties Zambia, a franchise of Pam Golding Properties Group. She has held this position since the establishment of Pam Golding Properties Zambia in 2008. Under her leadership Pam Golding Properties has grown to become the leading real estate services company in Zambia. She has 17 years’ experience in the property market ranging from commercial, residential, retail property as well as consulting for and on behalf of property development companies. Inutu has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Copperbelt University and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at the African Leadership University. She is a member of the Zambia Institute of Estate Agents, a founder member of the Zambia Green Building Council, a member of the Archdiocese of Lusaka, Finance Advisory Committee, part of the management Team of Leonard Cheshire Homes Society, a Mara mentor an initiative under the Atlas Mara Mentorship Programme, she is also a member and Working Group Member of The Africa List (the top 100 influential leaders in Africa), an initiative by the Commonwealth Development Programme.
Malcolm Horne is CEO of Broll Property Group, a leading commercial property services provider operating across Sub Saharan Africa. He joined Broll in 2003 and was promoted from MD of Property Management to Group CEO in 2010. Malcolm is a director of Broll’s subsidiary companies throughout Africa and is also a director of the South African Council of Shopping Centres and an immediate past director of SAPOA. With his legal background and under Malcolm’s leadership, Broll has built up a great team and has relentlessly followed a strategy to establish a presence across sub-Saharan Africa.
Kevin Teeroovengadum has an MBA and M.Sc. in Finance. He worked for KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young in corporate finance and business consultancy before moving to Loita Capital Partners Group. Kevin joined Actis as a Director as part of their Africa real estate team. At Actis, he led the origination of a number of new developments and assisted in fund raising for Actis’ 2 nd real estate fund. He also led the sale of 2 major assets i.e. Accra Mall in Ghana and Capital Properties in Tanzania to offshore buyers and setting the pricing benchmark for investment grade properties in Africa.
Nicolas Sheard is a founding member and the Group CEO of RLB in Africa, a Quantity Surveying and Project Management firm based in South Africa with a growing African footprint. With 30 years’ experience in the industry, Nicolas has vast knowledge of managing flagship projects across all construction sectors. Through implementing strategic direction, he has been an integral part of the successful growth and sustainable development of the business in sub-Saharan Africa and continues to seek new opportunities for further expansion. As an expert and mentor in the industry, Nicolas served on the discussion panel at previous events of the African Property Investment Summit.
Ilaria Benucci joined the CDC Group in 2013 as Investment Director: Industrial Businesses. She has also led CDC Investments in two East-African commercial banks. Ilaria joined CDC from AIG Private Equity where she was responsible for investments in emerging Europe and Turkey. Her background is in private equity and financial institutions investing across Europe and the CIS countries. Before AIG, she spent over 10 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where she worked on banks’ privatisations and equity investments as well as
project finance and real estate.
Tim is a founder and CEO of PROFICA, a group of professional development, project and construction management services companies in the retail, commercial, industrial & processing, residential, hotels and leisure sectors. Tim received his qualification in Civil Engineering, gained professional project management expertise in the UK, is a fully accredited professional member of the Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK, a registered Professional Construction Project Manager with the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) and is the current President of the Association of Construction Project Managers (ACPM).
Nick is a Chartered General Practise Surveyor with 25 years’ experience of real estate development in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, managing the early stage delivery of several major projects. At Rendeavour, Nick is responsible for the delivery of Tatu City. Prior to this, Nick lived in Ghana, where he was responsible for Rendeavour’s satellite city development, Appolonia City. Prior to joining Rendeavour, Nick was responsible for the leasing of Avia Park, Europe’s largest shopping and entertainment centre. In Vietnam, he delivered the masterplan of Green Tech City, Hanoi. Nick’s development experience covers the whole range of property sectors, with the main focus on residential, commercial, retail and hotels.
Madhur (Muddy) Ramrakha is a globally respected financial expert with more than 19 years of experience, ranging from Audits and investment banking with big four firms and JP Morgan. In 1996, he earned a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation through the California Board of Accountancy in San Diego. He is currently the Board Treasurer at the Kenya Green Building Society, spearheading the green finance advocacy within the green building movement. He has received recognition for his astounding work in the Green Movement by earning a Greenstar SA accredited Professional – New building 2016 in the property sector. Muddy has conducted green building and green finance training for several banks in Kenya.
Julien Garcier is Founder and MD of Sagaci Research, the leading independent market research/intelligence firm dedicated to African markets. Prior to launching, Julien was a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he was involved in growing the firm activity across the African continent, advising governments and multinational companies in their development efforts. Between 2000 – 2005, Julien was a consultant at A.T. Kearney, France. Julien graduated from EM Lyon (France) with an M.Sc. in Management and has an undergraduate diploma in Economics from the University of Lyon (France). He is a French national and lives in Nairobi, Kenya.
Trevor Ward is a specialist consultant in the hospitality, leisure and real estate industries. He is the Principal of the W Hospitality Group, and Chairman of Hotel Partners Africa, with offices in the UK, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa.
He started his consultancy career in 1983, having previously completed a university degree in hotel management at the University of Surrey, and worked in hotel management positions in the UK. From the late 1980s he has specialised in the provision of advisory services to clients in developing countries, and since 2003 has been based in Nigeria, advising clients there and throughout Africa.
His international experience includes advising clients on hotel and tourism development in more than 90 countries in Europe, North and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. With a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa, he is working with many of the international hotel groups who are seeking a presence there, from the oil-rich countries of the west to the tourism hotspots of the south and east. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the hotel industry in sub-Saharan Africa, and is engaged primarily in development consultancy ranging from investment appraisals to operator selection, owner’s representation and asset management, valuations, financing, development management, procurement and agency.
In addition to his advisory work, Trevor is an active member of the Institute of Hospitality, for which he is their Ambassador for Africa, and of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants.
Trevor is a regular speaker at industry conferences, and writes in various professional and Africa-focused journals, including Africa Investor and BT Africa
Sandy Kelly began his career in the construction, property development and property finance industry in South Africa. He moved to Botswana in 1988 to “open the doors” for Time Projects
Botswana. He was instrumental in developing PrimeTime’s initial portfolio and its successful listing on the BSE in 2007. Since then, as managing director of Time Projects and PrimeTime he has led the team that has built the company’s investment properties from an initial 13 to 26 today including the drive into Zambia.
Click to expand the Competition Criteria
THE COMPETITION RULES OF THE API AWARDS ARE DETAILED HEREAFTER (“RULES”).
ITEM 1
COMPETITION CATEGORIES AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Development Categories:
In light of recent disruptions to real estate development delivery due to Covid-19, the categories under the Development Section will not be considered for the 2020 API Awards, all submissions to date will be rolled over to the 2021 API Awards.
Personnel Categories:
- Woman in African Real Estate Award
- Young Property Person of the Year
- Top Africa Real Estate CEO of the Year
- API Lifetime Award
- Landlord of the Year
Services and Innovation Categories:
- Top African Real Estate Bank of the Year
- Top Property Technology Company Award
- Top Services Group of the Year
- Top African Developer of the Year
ITEM 2
NUMBER OF ENTRIES ALLOWED
There is no limit on the number of submissions per company, as long as each entry meets the criteria stipulated in the rules.
ITEM 3
PRE-ENTRY FORM & PRE-SELECTION
Companies wishing to enter the competition must complete and submit one online pre-entry form, high resolution photos as well as other necessary materials i.e. maps, videos etc. per entry so that the API Events team can verify the eligibility. Everything must be included in a zipped file attached to an email or alternatively sent through a dropbox, google drive or WeTransfer link.
The company submitting understands and accepts that all information, including photographs and other materials, may be shared with contracted third parties for organisational purposes. This information may be distributed via any media, including the Internet, for communications relating to API and the API Awards, unless the applicant objects.
If a development project is managed by several companies, the company submitting the project, guarantees that it is the sole initiator together with possible co-authors and warrants that it holds all the rights for the presented projects and information related to the project, and that it does not harm any potentially involved third partyʼs rights or anyoneʼs private life or likeness, and that the project / idea does not infringe on any law, especially copyright laws. In case, several companies submit the same project, they must reach an agreement to designate one company only. If not, API Events reserves the right to keep the first entry and reject the other. In any case, API Events will not be held liable in case of any conflicts between the companies.
ITEM 4
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Pre-selected projects may be required to send additional information as well as any other necessary materials at the request of the API Events team.
ITEM 5
THE JURY AND ITS MISSION
All completed and pre-qualified applications received by 31 August 2020 will be submitted to the API Awards Jury, an independent body of real estate professionals selected by API Events. The jury will then individually review all the entries and submit their results by 11 September 2020. The jury’s mission is to select four nominees, in their order of preference, in each of the 9 categories mentioned in item 1. The project with the most amount of votes will then be chosen as the final winner for that particular category.
The jury can, in total independence, base its selection upon various and unlimited criteria such as infrastructure and transportation access, integration into the environment, originality of the concept, technical and architectural quality, and services offered.
The jury is also entitled to move any entry to a more appropriate category and consequently judge the entry in that category. The applicant will be informed by email of this change.
The jury reserves the right not to examine incomplete applications or applications that do not comply with the present rules. The jury may decide to remove a category if they consider that the submitted entries do not ensure a sufficient level of quality. The jury’s decision is final and will not have to be justified. The jury will base its decision on a wide range of criteria with specific focus on the below:
TOP AFRICAN REAL ESTATE BANK OF THE YEAR
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Size of deals/number of transactions completed during the last 12 months
- Quality and quantity of the deals concluded during the last 12 months
- Indicate how your institution proactively responded to the Covid-19 pandemic through innovative deal structuring or lending practices for new or refinanced deals
- Indicate the diversification of deals and services either across real estate sectors or the African continent
- Indicate how the institution stands out from its competitors
- Describe the impact the institution had on the Pan-African real estate footprint over the last 12 months
YOUNG AFRICAN PROPERTY PERSON OF THE YEAR
Legible candidate must be under 35 years
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:]
- Outline your career profile to date
- Your achievements in the last 12 months
- Impact the you have had on the industry or organization in the last 12 months
- Indicate how you are a thought leader in the industry
- Indicate how you have shown great potential to lead
- Outline what you may have done as a response to Covid-19 that may have positively impacted your company or the African real estate industry during the pandemic
WOMAN IN AFRICAN REAL ESTATE AWARD
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Outline your career profile to date
- Your achievements in the last 12 months
- Impact the you have had on the industry or organization in the last 12 months
- Indicate how you are a thought leader in the industry
- Indicate how you have shown great potential to lead
- Describe how you have progressed the woman’s movement in the African real estate sector
- Outline what you may have done as a response to Covid-19 that may have positively impacted your company or the African real estate industry during the pandemic
TOP PROPERTY TECHNOLOGY COMPANY AWARD
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- What is the product and what problem is the product solving?
- How is the product serving the demand?
- What impact has the product had on the real estate sector?
- How much business has the product generated over the 12 months?
- How innovative the product is?
- How user friendly is the product?
- Has your product upgraded or found a further solution that has positively impacted the African real estate industry during Covid-19?
TOP PROPERTY SERVICES GROUP OF THE YEAR
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Size of deals/number of transactions completed during the last 12 months
- Quality and quantity of the services provided during the last 12 months
- Innovation in solutions provided in the last 12 months
- Indicate the diversification of services provided either across real estate sectors or the African continent
- Indicate how the business stands out from its competitors
- Describe the impact the business had on the Pan-African real estate footprint over the last 12 months
- Indicate what your business has done as a response to Covid-19 and how has this impacted the business and/or real estate industry
- Outline how you put the needs of your clients first during the pandemic
TOP AFRICA REAL ESTATE CEO OF THE YEAR
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Describe what you have done in the last 12 months that has positively impacted the business/organization
- Indicate the impact you have had on the industry or organization in the last 12 months
- Indicate how you are a thought leader in the industry
- Indicate how you have shown great potential to lead
- Describe how the business has performed under your leadership in the last 12 months
- Indicate what you have done for the business as a response to Covid-19, how has this positively impacted the business and/or African real estate industry
API LIFETIME AWARD
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
*Please note that this category is purely on a nomination basis. API Events will requested finalists to enter
- Describe how you/your nominee has been consistent and resilient in the African real estate sector
- Indicate how you/your nominee is a thought leader in the industry
- Provide any quantifiable achievements in the last 20 years
- Describe how businesses/organizations have performed or transformed under your/your nominee’s leadership
- Indicate how you/your nominee have had a Pan-African presence in real estate through you/your nominee’s work and that of the organizations you/your nominee has led
- Indicate how you/your nominee stands out from the rest in the African real estate industry
- Indicate what you/nominee has done for the business as a response to Covid-19, how has this positively impacted the business and/or real estate industry
LANDLORD OF THE YEAR AWARD
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Describe what you have done in the last 12 months that has positively impacted the business/organization
- Indicate the impact you have had on the industry or organization in the last 12 months
- Indicate what you did to proactively respond to Covid-19. What did you do for your tenants and what innovative strategies did you use to ensure tenant retention during this period? How did you manage to maintain occupancy?
- Indicate what you have done as a response to Covid-19, how has this positively impacted the African real estate industry
- Outline how you put the needs of your clients first during the pandemic
TOP AFRICAN DEVELOPER OF THE YEAR
This category will be judged on the following, please provide a brief document that stipulates all the below points:
- Describe the developments you have completed during the last 12 months (completion date has to be before 31 August 2020)
- Include:
- Description: location, infrastructure and transport access, sensitivity to the local community and integration into the environment
- Aesthetics/Architectural: Technical and architectural quality
- Development Operations: occupancy, financial performance, response to market demands and corporate staff involvement
- Environmental Impact: Sustainability and Innovation
- Photos and videos etc
- Indicate the diversification of services provided either across real estate sectors or the African continent
- Indicate how the business stands out from its competitors
- Describe the impact the business had on the Pan-African real estate footprint over the last 12 months
- Indicate what your business has done as a response to Covid-19 and how has this impacted the business and/or real estate industry
- Outline how you put the needs of your clients first during the pandemic
ITEM 6
FINALISTS & WINNERS
Companies and nominees will be informed via email if they have been selected as finalists of the category by the API Awards Jury. Finalists must be registered for the API Virtual Summit & Expo in order to represent the project during the API Awards Ceremony held on 28 September 2020.
ITEM 7
VISUAL ELEMENTS FOR THE SHOW AND VOTE
The finalists hereby authorise API Events to use their names, likenesses, voices and application extracts, including project video(s) and/ or image(s), for conducting the voting process, presenting the project(s) during API Virtual Summit & Expo and the API Awards Ceremony, and promoting API Virtual Summit & Expo and the API Awards. Finalists agree that they are duly authorized by potential co-creators or third parties and commit to provide API Events with the name of the photographer (photo credit) if deemed necessary. To the same end, finalists also authorise API Events to freely use any project logos, trademarks, titles, extracts and other intangible rights and promotional items submitted to the 2020 edition of the API Awards competition.
ITEM 8
API AWARDS CEREMONY
The competition results will be announced at the API Awards Ceremony, which will take place on 28 September 2020. Official representatives for the winning projects will collect their prizes. The prize-giving may be photographed and recorded for the purposes of promoting the API Awards, the winners, the finalists and their project(s). Winners and finalists authorise API Events and their representatives to photograph and video and audio record the prize-giving directly or indirectly, including their likenesses and voices, together with any elements related to their projects as mentioned under Item 7 above, and to reproduce and broadcast the photography and recording to the public by any means for promotional purposes. Finalists also certify and guarantee that they are duly authorized by their official representatives and any potential co-creators and third parties. In the unforeseen circumstance that a company representative cannot attend the awards ceremony at API Virtual Summit & Expo the company will need to inform API Events at least three weeks prior to the event to arrange a video acceptance.
ITEM 9
API AWARDS CEREMONY ATTENDANCE
Each finalist agrees to send at least one official project representative to the API Awards Ceremony to receive any prize(s). Companies selected as finalists for the API Awards do not receive free entry to the API Virtual Summit.
ITEM 10
CLAIMS
Registering and competing for the API Awards implies full acceptance of the present Rules. The Rules and the API Awards are governed by South African law. If no amicable settlement can be reached, any dispute arising in connection with the construction and/or performance of the Rules as well as said Awards shall fall under the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court of Johannesburg, which is expressly acknowledged and agreed to by the parties.
ITEM 11
MISCELLANEOUS
In the event of force majeure or unforeseen circumstances resulting in the impossibility of organizing API Virtual Summit & Expo, the API Awards shall be cancelled without any indemnification whatsoever. The applicant is informed that the personal data collected by API Events in connection with API Awards will be processed for the purposes of organizing this competition. The beneficiaries of this data will be API Events, its personnel, the jury and may be forwarded to third parties, with whom API Events has contracted for the purposes of organizing the competition.