Over 7,300 Vuka investors in the Qwetu and Qejani student residences, managed under the Acorn Student Accommodation Income Real Estate Investment Trust (ASA I-REIT), are set to receive a KES 0.29 per unit interim dividend for the first half of 2025.
Vuka investors will receive a KES 0.29 interim dividend for the first six months of 2025 after the investment reported operating revenues of KES 524 million and KES 289 million in operating profit.
The ASA I-REIT management, in their half-year report, states that they expect rents to continue flowing because the business’s fundamentals are solid, and here is why.
First, the number of students entering Kenya’s universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions continues to rise, but the number of available beds is just too few, creating a yawning gap that is ripe for reaping.
Data shows that over the last five years, university student enrolment has grown by close to 10%. In numbers, university student enrolment stood at around 552,000 for the 2021/22 academic year, shooting to 606,400 as of the 2024/25 academic year.
For TVET institutions, enrolment has grown even faster at 57% with student numbers increasing to 709,3885 thousand from 451,205 over the same period.
Now let’s look at bed capacity. The report says that as of 2024, Kenya’s total national student housing stock stood at approximately 280,000 beds, falling far short of demand given the rising student population.
And there you have it. The demand is just too big, which gives the ASA I REIT a golden opportunity to expand its bed capacity, which currently stands at 10,500 operational beds with about 9,500 beds in the pipeline.
Second, universities and TVET institutions are alive to the fact they need private sector partnerships.
Most universities and TVET institutions are only able to house a small percentage of their overall enrollment and are therefore highly dependent upon the off-campus market to provide housing for their students.
High-quality, well-run off-campus student housing can be a critical component of an institution’s ability to attract and retain students. Therefore, developing and maintaining good relationships with private players such as the Acorn can result in a privately owned off-campus facility becoming, in effect, an extension of the institution’s housing programme, with the institution providing highly valued references and recommendations to students, parents, and guardians.
And so far, so good. The ASA I-REIT has established partnerships with 99 institutions of higher learning, up from 92 at the beginning of the year. This is good because it means that the I REIT will continue getting a sure market for its properties.
For Vuka investors, a combination of these factors will ensure they get a strong return on their investment, which starts for as low as KES 5,000. To get started and to learn more, click on the link below:
Related Content: Acorn’s Student Housing REIT Locks in Stability with 99 Partnerships, Boosting Occupancy And Dividends For 7,300 Landlords
