Nairobi has landed a top position in cities spurring technology and real estate development with a potential of being the leading African country in socio-economic growth, a report has said.

The 2016 Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) City Momentum Index (CMI) indicated that the ongoing construction of Konza Techno City in Machakos County and more housing units to shelter the growing population, is promoting innovation, higher education and better living.

The report: "The start of construction on Konza Techno City, an innovation hub including space for higher education and technology firms, is laying a solid foundation for the future. Impressive demographic and economic momentum is necessitating the creation of infrastructure and real estate to support the city’s expansion as it registers among the highest levels of office and retail construction and absorption of any city in the CMI.”

Kenya's capital city has grabbed position one in Sub-Saharan Africa and 11 globally.

It further said that “Nairobi is also pushing to become the centre of technology in Africa, with a growing number of tech incubators and venture capital funds opening in the city.”

London holds the top position followed adrift by Silicon Valley and Dublin as the top three cities. Others in the top 10 are Bangalore, Boston, Shanghai, New York, Sydney, Beijing and San Francisco.

Nairobi improved from the 15th position in the 2015 survey.

JLL is a financial and professional services firm specializing in commercial real estate services and investment management.

Covering 120 major established and emerging business hubs across the globe, the Index measures a city’s short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum (over a three-year horizon) in combination with measures of ‘future-proofing’ – whether a city has the essential ingredients to ensure longer-term sustainable momentum.

The report was published on www.jll.com (Source:Daily Nation)