The lack of digital land registries has bred a fertile ground for increased fraud in Africa’s real estate sectors. Many potential investors still shy away buying property for the fear of losing their money to land scammers.

Corruption in land deals has pushed the Kenyan government, for instance, to launch its digital land registry. Even though that is some progress, DLA Piper partners in Kenya, Iseme Kamau and Maema Advocates (IKM) say that it is still not offering a reprieve to land transactions.

“Concerns have been expressed at the time taken for completion of the verification process, which has been lengthy and time-consuming, resulting in delays in completion of transactions,” the law firm said in a report it published last November.

There are rampant cases of land being sold to multiple clients across many African countries. Consequently, many would-be land owners have lost their money in corrupt land schemes.

One Company’s Mission to End Land Fraud

Lagos-based SESO Global is seeking to stop this fraud and make land transactions more efficient. This is through its blockchain-based digital platform.

The firm hopes to ultimately help land owners, buyers, and developers across Africa transact and find verified properties. It is tapping the immutability nature of blockchain to help them verify current and past ownership of land.

It launched a blockchain portal in Nigeria in 2018, which has recorded rapid uptake by developers and buyers. Nigeria has been battling land scams for years but there is optimism that blockchain can tame such ills.

“We work with around 150 property developers to check their documents, building plans, and the actual development. Property fraud is a big issue across African emerging markets,” Daniel Bloch, the Founder and CEO of SESO Global, told Nodo News.

The company launched another blockchain property portal in Ghana in 2020. It is a secure end-to-end transaction platform that enables home buyers in the country to securely view properties, receive mortgages or financing, and engage lawyers.

“With the recent global events reducing the ability to transact face to face, Seso Global’s unique ability to host all stakeholders across the property value chain has never been so important,” Bloch said during the launch.

Blockchain Breeds Empowerment in Home Owernship

(An intersection in Nairobi, Kenya / Nodo News)

SESO Global also operates in South Africa, and according to Bloch, the goal is “to empower land owners and homeowners across Africa“ via blockchain.

“Long term is that as we build, we onboard more and more developers that we can verify, and that we can trust. This will become an actual registry that even the governments could adopt,” he says.

On Feb. 5, the firm partnered with Africa Land Developers and committed $50million to affordable financing to property developers in Ghana and Nigeria over the next five years.

The company now plans to take this platform to local communities in Liberia and Sierra Leonne. It wants to help users to register their land. This could make it seamless to verify land ownership and stamp out corrupt land deals.

Blockchain can help in the tokenization of Africa’s real estate, thanks to the inclusion of smart contracts in blockchain platforms. Such tokenization creates alternative ways for financing projects. This also enables the transfer of assets in a transparent and trustworthy manner.