Based in Accra, Ghana Manu is responsible for the development and delivery of RICS market strategy and operations within West Africa.
He joins RICS from Invest in Africa where he was the manager of the African Partner Pool (APP). This was the first Pan-African online business linkage platform connecting local businesses to leading multinational companies to promote sustainable investments into Africa.
Manu previously worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop climate change response strategies in the health sector for the Ghanaian government. He also worked with the British Council and the International Consortium for Law and Strategic Security.
“I am pleased to join RICS as it marks its entry into the West African market. It is my aim to contribute my efforts towards promoting the RICS qualification and professional standards as part of our public service mandate. Our presence in strategic markets across Sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly developing and I am proud to be a part of that,” he says.
Manu joins a growing RICS team in Sub-Saharan Africa as the organisation expands its offering in the region. Having identified the region as an area of opportunity where real estate and infrastructure investment is seeing phenomenal development to meet the needs of a growing population, RICS now has operations in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
The regional director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Wafula Nabutola, leads the team and says that the RICS approach is to build relationships and collaborative partnerships with governments and national bodies to realise the potential in markets across the region.
“I wholeheartedly welcome Benjamin Manu to the team that is still in its infancy. RICS has excellent programmes, products and professional services all over the world. We are now building our operations in Africa where we will work towards collaborative partnerships and facilitation for which RICS is a natural and compelling champion,” he says.
Last year, RICS launched a research report on the real estate markets in key African economies, including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania. ‘Unleashing Sub-Saharan Africa Property Markets’ highlights the growing opportunities for professionals in Africa in the business, residential and retail property sectors. It also found that many countries lacked skilled professions, such as engineers, compared to countries such as Chile or Malaysia. The report illustrates how the region has many opportunities for growth, but also needs real capacity building across the built environment.
“I am delighted to have Benjamin as part of our team and I look forward to working with him as we consolidate our operations in Africa,” adds Mark Walley, RICS managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).