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Twenty-seven year old Brian Wanjala is now a proud owner of a brand new Mercedes Benz C-180 saloon car courtesy of the real estate firm Optiven.
Wanjala, a software engineer based in Kasarani, Nairobi, won the luxury car in the just concluded Furahia na Optiven prize competition, a customer loyalty program by Optiven to reward customers who purchased property from the company.
The Kshs20 million worth program, which run through the months of October, November & December of 2021 as a prize competition that allowed Optiven Customers to stand a chance of winning awesome prizes for either purchasing a new Value Added Plot of Land with Optiven or for paying installments of their Value Added Plot of Land.
Once a customer bought any of Optiven’s value added property or redeemed their instalment, they stood a chance of winning prizes during that period. For every payment of Kshs10, 000 towards a plot of land, the customers got one (1) entry point into the Furahia na Optiven Promotion Draw, which was regulated by the Betting and Licensing Control Board (BCLB).
Other prizes won in the program included; Daily Airtime Vouchers; Weekly Local Vacations; Monthly Plots of Land; a Toyota Passo and a Toyota Vitz.
The prize for the Grand Draw, which was conducted under the watchful eyes of BCLB, was a Mercedes C-180. The lucky winner of this prize was Brian Wanjala, a youthful and self-declared single man who also confesses that he had dreams of owning a car in the next two years.
Optiven CEO George Wachiuri handed over the car to an elated Wanjala during a ceremony held at Optiven’s Amani Ridge in Kiambu County.
“We are happy that we are positively participating in bridging the housing deficit in Kenya, by offering innovative solutions that have evidently encouraged much uptake of property across our projects,” said Wachiuri.
“I was mesmerized to get a call from Optiven that I had won a Mercedes-Benz C-180 after purchasing a plot of land at Happy Gardens, Kitengela. That was my first investment and I didn’t expect to be an owner of a car any time soon, and so I was pleasantly surprised and extremely glad,” Wanjala said.
The ceremony also witnessed one of Optiven Customers, Theophilus Karigi, take home a 50 by 100 plot of land along the busy Namanga Road, making him the third winner of a plot of land in this competition.
“According to World Habitat, Kenya currently has an annual housing demand of 250, 000 units and we only have an estimated supply of 50, 000 units, culminating in a housing deficit of 2 million units, or 80% deficit. Indeed, it is a known secret that housing affordability is a challenge in this East African country with many people unable to afford to buy or build their own home. It is important for players in the real estate sector to participate in helping bridge this challenge by offering solutions that allow easy payment modes. Optiven has been leading on this front,” says Wachiuri.
The Optiven CEO revealed that young people (millennials) were buying property contrary to popular theory that the youth are only interested in partying.
“The script has changed,” said Wachiuri. “Millennials are indeed investing in real estate like never before.”