Bproperty’s parent EMPG raises $150m in investments

Ever since the financial crisis of 2007-08, the real estate market has been slowly but surely putting itself back together. The pace of that recovery picked up significantly from the mid-2010s. At the forefront of that resurgence were the real estate markets of developing nations.

One of the major players during this period has been the Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), a leading property portal group in emerging markets.Their continuous rise has been a story for the ages, and one of their highly successful ventures is the popular one-stop property solutions provider, Bproperty.

Last week, EMPG reached a significant milestone when the company crossed $1 billion in valuation, thanks to an investment of $150 million.

EMPG, who owns and operates Bayut in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Mubwab in North Africa, Zameen in Pakistan, the recently acquired Kaidee in Thailand, and Bproperty in Bangladesh, achieved this feat after announcing a merger with the OLX group. As a part of the deal,a $150 million cash injection was led by the OLX group with participation from existing EMPG shareholders. Previously, the property group raised over $100 million in investments last year. Furthermore, OLX group’s operations in Pakistan, Egypt, the UAE and Lebanon expanded EMPG’s operations to a total of 14 countries worldwide.

Akin to the previous investments, the fund raised this time around will be utilized to improve user experience, enhance data transparency, deepen market knowledge and introduce a new range of services throughout its many platforms. EMPG and its property portals, such as Bayut, are already renowned for providing top-of-the-line real estate service and support to consumers. And the belief within the organization is that this investment will enable to streamline even further the sort of superior experience that is expected of them.It is estimated that the real estate markets in which EMPG operates are worth around $90 billion with over a billion consumers.

The real estate market in Bangladesh is one of the biggest stakeholders of that billion consumers. The market has been growing significantly in recent times, and Bproperty, as representative of EMPG in the country, has been a major player in it, thanks to its innovative use of technology and providing one-stop solutions. The Bangladeshi market is also one with the most potential under the group’s purview. That is why, right after last year's round of funding, EMPG invested $10 million into Bproperty, making it one of the highest investments to be made in a single online platform in the history of Bangladesh.

That investment had a prolific hand in the real estate solutions provider’s growth in the country, as well as improving the services they provide. In 2019, the organization was able to increase its listing database by leaps and bounds, along with expanding its operations to the Chittagong district, which was marked by the official launching of an office there.

Bproperty also started the year by acquiring another company outright, Lamudi Bangladesh. Last year’s investment also strengthened Bproperty’s rental section,as evident by the opening of the country’s first rental marketplace. Additionally, the funding helped Bproperty emerge as a formidable brand in Bangladesh.Similarly, this $150 million investment for EMPG may result in further funding for the property portal in Bangladesh.

In the latest edition of “Bproperty Talks: Real Estate Reality,” the company’s CEO Mark Nosworthy stated that this latest investment helped Bproperty to be very secured in regards to the solutions they provide. It is his belief that this investment will allow the organization to enhance its role in the overall development of the country’s real estate sector, and provide better accessibility to everyone involved. The ultimate goal, according to Mr Nosworthy, is to improve the industry as a whole.

In that sense, further investment into Bproperty and Bangladesh’s real estate development by the Emerging Markets Property Group will enable consumers to take advantage of the technological features that are available at the property portal,and make a confident real estate transaction.

In the current situation, where social distancing is essential and outside movement is limited, further improvements to technologies such as virtual tours, video tours and the ability to look for properties online will have a great impact on how real estate is transacted in the future. In fact, this real estate process might become the new norm in the near future.

According to EMPG CEO Imran Ali Khan, their unique ability to scale using proprietary tech has aided and enabled this expansion.The $150 million investment and the merger with the OLX group will help EMPG roll out new services for real estate communities as well as improve existing platforms.

This continual improvement in investment rounds that are yielding more and more funds are proof of EMPG’s stellar performance and confidence in the brand's reputation and services. As a result, they have been able to reach the significant milestone of $1 billion and continue to be a major player in the global real estate landscape.