Developing an AI platform to automate remote property & asset management during and post COVID-19 in Kenya

McKinsey & Co (April 2020) report that COVID-19 has precipitated permanent changes in the property industry globally. Knight Frank's Africa Market Pulse Survey 2020 predicts a 70% post COVID-19 increase in remote working and social distancing in the sector which will become the norm, reducing density in commercial spaces.

COVID-19 has changed the way our clients work and has accelerated their need for secure and centralised cloud technology.

**De Graft Management (DGM)** are Property & Asset Management software specialists with 25 years' experience developing software in the UK and Africa. We have been working with banks, insurance and property companies and government in Kenya who do not use technology to manage buildings and physical assets, are struggling with manual systems and want to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

DGM have engaged with end users in Kenya since 2018\. During COVID-19 we have been unable to travel to Africa, however we continue to work with our clients using remote digital collaborative tools. COVID-19 has changed the way we and our clients work, accelerating their need for secure and centralised cloud technology.

In direct response to client feedback, we are configuring and testing a prototype AI machine learning platform to help our clients recover from the effects COVID-19 has inflicted on the management of their buildings and assets.

We have carried out detailed stakeholder analysis and are working with a sample of clients to specifically address COVID-19 related pain points in managing buildings and assets. We have identified the following requirements:

1. Managing and maintaining empty or part empty buildings; critical maintenance issues to keep buildings running and securing valuable assets.
2. Remote property management for regular, online contact with tenants, landlords, owners and suppliers, to reduce the time spent managing issues, payments, requests and feedback
3. Renegotiating and recording leases and contracts to compensate for reduced usage
4. Negotiating and logging discounts and concessions for suppliers, tenants and landlords for rents, service charges, ground rent, business rates and utilities
5. Managing solid waste and related service providers to track collection and disposal of residential and commercial waste
6. Safeguarding buildings by monitoring hygiene and maintaining shared spaces, cleaning supplies and cleaning providers
7. Tracking adequate staff PPE levels are maintained

During this project we will configure the technology to enable users to complete 80% of their Property & Asset Management administrative tasks remotely, reduce costs and support their recovery post COVID-19\.

Environmental impacts will be:

* Reductions in emissions via improved building management efficiencies, reduced commercial buildings usage and fewer commuters
* Controlled waste management improving public hygiene, health and air quality

We will also address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8 and 11 by creating local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities and supporting least developed countries through technical assistance in building management.

We will also plan the commercialisation of the technology across Kenya, East Africa and Africa.