BUSINESS REPORTER
Real estate developer WestProp Holdings Limited and its CEO Ken Sharpe were on the podium to receive awards 13th African Achievers’ Awards held on Friday.
Sharpe was conferred with the African ‘award for innovation’ while WestProp was awarded the best African Organisation of the Year.
The awards recognises Sharpe’s “exceptional giant strides in philanthropy and real estate development”.
In an interview soon after bagging the award, Sharpe said he was committed to Zimbabwe and would concentrate his resources and strength to make a meaningful impact in the country through WestProp’s one billion brick vision.
The company has a vision of laying one billion bricks by 2050 and has since embarked on massive lifestyle development projects in Harare that include Pomona City, Millennium City and the upcoming Hills Golf Estate in Warren Park.
“This award is not only about me or WestProp but is also for all of us at home because today I represent my country and I want everyone to know that there are great things coming from Zimbabwe. As I always say our greatest asset is our people,” he said
On being innovative, Sharpe had this to say: “It’s all about mindset and seeing opportunities to improve when they present themselves.
“We at WestProp innovate by offering the first lifestyle communities, leasehold property ownership in Zimbabwe as well as making our developments green and sustainable using solar, grey water and bio digesters. The world is changing all the time and as a leader you have to keep up with continuous adaptation and iteration; if you do not evolve you will be left behind.
“We need to change our mindset by embracing disruptive technology and use it to improve humanity and how we operate in business. So when I look at innovation in Africa we are far behind in many areas,” he said.
West Prop’s innovative ideas are exemplified in its lifestyle communities, which offer residents high quality living through a combination of smart city technology, communal living spaces, and unique amenities.
These smart city eco-friendly communities have been designed to appeal to modern homeowners who seek a balance between live, work, shop and play. With West Prop’s innovative ideas and commitment to sustainability, the future of property development in Zimbabwe is looking brighter than ever.
Sharpe said he was already setting the pace, trend and example at WestProp whose mantra is bringing Dubai to Zimbabwe through the construction of mixed use lifestyle communities that range from super luxury to premium luxury to ultra-luxury.
In recent years, property development has been revolutionised by technological innovation, and West Prop’s forward-thinking approach has positioned it as a leading developer in Harare.
Asked whether he was looking at spreading his business tentacles outside Zimbabwe, Sharpe had this to say: “My plans for Africa start with where I am which is in Zimbabwe. My plans are focused on Zimbabwe. I am not looking at stepping outside the country because there is so much for me to do here. We have to make the light shine and the rest of Africa will follow.”
Some of the winner of the Africa Achievers Awards include former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Securico founder Divine Ndhlukula.
The awards ceremony and summit which ran under the theme “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities for Sustainable Development in Africa” were hosted by Lord Simone Woolley, the Right Honourable Member of the House of Lords, UK Parliament: Palace of Westminster.
