Student Factory Africa has partnered with a Dutch-based private equity firm to inaugurate a mega hostel project in Nairobi.
According to Student Factory Chief Executive Chris Osore, the project is to fill a niche for a formalized student accommodation highlighted by universities.
"The universities have been asking for it. And it is just that investors have not been able to tap into that market," he said. In Kenya, there's a deficit of 200,000 student beds with Karen having a shortage of 14,000 beds.
The groundbreaking will be in April and the first phase is set to be complete in 12 months. The hostels will have 4500-bed student accommodation and it will be located at Karen next to the Catholic University of Africa.
They will also have communal lounges, communal kitchen, a dining area, each room with a kitchenette with a microwave, laundry facilities, and drying area per block, sports/recreation area per courtyard, additional sports field, central communal block (chapel, central reception area, management office, student meeting rooms, central kitchen, main dining room/multi-purpose hall, convenience store, gym, and Sanatorium.
A private firm, Betonbouw, will finance a third of the project, with the rest of the funds coming from development finance institutions.
Osore said that they're in talks with the World Bank’s private investment wing, International Finance Corporation (IFC) seeking funding.
Priority will be given to Catholic university students as they secured a lease for over a 12-acre portion of the land from the college's owners, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops. Students from other universities will pay a monthly rent of between Ksh10,000 and Ksh18,000.
According to the chairman of the board of Red Betonbouw, Enes Djerlek, students will be hosted in a state-of-the-art facility that will ensure an excellent environment to excel in their respective studies.
In Kenya, there are 23 public universities, 14 chartered private universities, and 13 universities with Letter of Interim Authority (LIA). According to the Ministry of Education, available student housing in Kenya stands at 300,000 against a university enrolment of 509,473 as of 2020, excluding technical colleges.