Ghana’s online real estate portal meQasa strikes $500k deal

Ghanian online real estate platform meQasa has just secured a US$500 000 investment from global investment firm Frontier Digital Ventures, highlighting the increase in venture capital interest in West Africa.

An alumni of the renowned entrepreneurial training programme by the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), meQasa is said to have elevated the real estate industry in Ghana.

The startup sees itself as having an advantage by providing a free service that helps brokers, landlords and other real estate industry professionals to conduct business efficiently online, while simplifying the search experience for prospective tenants and buyers. It currently hosts over 5 000 listings on its site.

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“We’re thrilled to have come on the radar of an international investor such as Frontier Digital Ventures, who saw the value in our efforts and chose to invest in the potential of this company,” says Kelvin Nyame, the CEO of meQasa, in a recent press statement.

Frontier Digital Ventures is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and focuses its investments on five key frontier regions, including Central America, Middle East & North Africa, East Africa, West Africa and South Asia. The firm has been very active in Africa within this year, backing online classifieds site Afribaba as well as Congo’s Carwangu in September.

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CEO of Frontier Digital Ventures Shaun Di Gregrio says that the firm is delighted to be partnering with meQasa:

The business has a strong platform in place and is quickly progressing in what we see as a truly dynamic market in West Africa. The combination of our own online classifieds experience across emerging markets, along with meQasa’s passion and commitment, makes for a powerful combination and opportunity to build an industry leading business in Ghana and beyond.

The cash injection will be used to boost the classifieds site’s sales and marketing efforts, while continuing the development of the platform’s web and mobile experience.

This deal is yet again evident of the growing interest in West Africa by both local and foreign investors. Within the last few months Nigerian accommodation booking site Hotels.ng secured a hefty US$1.2-million from the likes of Omidyar Group and EchoVC, while money transfer company Paga welcomed US$13-million in capital early this month.