Optiven; a real estate firm has rewarded its twenty-seven-year-old customer Brian Wanjala with a brand new Mercedes Benz C-180 saloon car.

Mercedes Benz C-180. PHOTO/COURTESY

This follows the software engineer’s win in the just concluded Furahia na Optiven prize competition.

This is a customer loyalty program by Optiven to reward customers who purchased a property from the company.

The Sh20 million worth program, which run through the months of October, November & December 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 instalments of their Value Added Plot of Land.

Customers stood a chance of winning prizes during that period once they bought any of Optiven’s value-added property or redeemed their instalment.

Each payment of Kshs10, 000 towards a plot of land, earned the customers one entry point into the Furahia na Optiven Promotion Draw.

The Betting and Licensing Control Board (BCLB) regulated the draw.

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 Mercedes C-180 was the ultimate prize for the Grand Draw, which was conducted under the watchful eyes of BCLB.

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 was the lucky winner of the grand prize; Mercedes Benz C-180.

The CEO of Optiven 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.

Wanjala said it mesmerized him to get the call from Optiven informing him about the good tidings. He revealed he was not expecting to own a car soon and was glad to have won.

“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 anytime soon, and so I was pleasantly surprised and extremely glad,” Wanjala said.

Brian Wanjala. PHOTO/COURTESY

During the same ceremony, another Optiven customer, Theophilus Karigi, received a 50 by 100 plot of land along the busy Namanga Road, making him the third winner of a plot of land in the competition.

Wachiuri revealed that Kenya currently has an annual housing demand of 250,000 units yet there is only an estimated supply of 50,000 units according to World Habitat.

He also said it is important for players in the real estate sector to take part in helping bridge the challenge presented by housing affordability in East Africa by providing solutions that allow easy payment modes.

“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 per cent 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 were buying property contrary to the 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.”

Brian Wanjala. PHOTO/COURTESY