Inside Mi Vida Homes: Building Sustainable, Mid-Market Housing for Nairobi’s Growing Population

In this section of the interview, Samuel Kariuki, CEO of Mi Vida Homes Kenya, provides a detailed overview of the company’s origins, business model, and perspective on the Kenyan real-estate market. He explains that Mi Vida Homes is a green, affordable, and mid-market housing developer, one of the few institutional developers in Kenya, founded by Actis private equity. The company operates an asset-light and capital-light pre-sale model, developing for sale rather than retaining properties for rent. This structure enables Mi Vida to fund projects through customer deposits while maintaining a high internal rate of return (IRR).

Kariuki highlights that Mi Vida Homes primarily builds studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments targeting Nairobi’s rental market and young families, addressing a persistent housing deficit of over two million units. Reflecting on the broader market, he notes Kenya’s transformation over the past two decades—with growth in residential, logistics, and student housing sectors—and identifies logistics centres and residential developments as the strongest current opportunities in Kenya’s real estate investment landscape.