Few entrepreneurs have left a bigger mark on Nairobi’s real estate landscape than Lalitchandra Jeshanker “Lalit” Pandit.
He was the driving force behind the development of Fedha Estate, Akiba Estate, East African Building Society (EABS Building, now Ecobank House), Akiba Bank, and several landmark commercial properties in Nairobi.
Many of his admirers have described him as a born entrepreneur.
In fact, Rwandan economist David Himbara once noted that Pandit tried to sell a life insurance policy to the Kenyan colonial Governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, aged only 19.
Pandit’s journey in real estate began when he qualified as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Societies.
He returned to Kenya in October 1958 and officially registered the EABS building (now Ecobank House).
Armed with KSh 5,000, he proceeded to open his first office, which was located on Hussein Suleiman Road (now Tubman Road) in 1959, aged 23.
At the time, Kenya’s economy was reeling from the effects of the state of emergency, which had been declared in 1952 by British colonial Governor Sir Evelyn Baring in response to the Mau Mau Uprising.
Only two building societies existed in Nairobi, but Pandit was sure there was room for expansion.
His company began providing mortgages to Kenyans who wanted to build their homes, and rapidly expanded to Kisumu and Mombasa.
By 1952, he had bought the old Brunner’s Hotel and converted it to the imposing 20-storey Fedha Towers in Nairobi.
By 1989, 30 years after he started his company, Pandit was worth over KSh 2 billion. By 2005, EABS was valued at over KSh 10 billion.
He is also credited with founding the Akiba Loans and Finances company in 1972 and Mercantile Insurance in 1993.
Akiba Loans and Finances pioneered the development of various housing estates such as Fedha and Akiba in South C.
Fedha Estate is located in Embakasi, along the eastern side of Nairobi. It lies off Outer Ring Road, near Tassia Estate, Pipeline, and Nyayo Estate, Embakasi.
The estate’s growth is credited mainly to its proximity to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Sadly, Pandit passed away in 2005, aged 69.
By the time of his death, he was the chairperson of the Kenya Institute of Management and a member of the Capital Markets Authority.
His company, Akiba Loans and Finances, was also one of the first Kenyan finance companies to become a bank.
Pandit’s property was inherited by his billionaire brothers Rajesh and Dhruv Pandit.
In mid-2008, the brothers merged Akiba Bank and EABS, after which they sold a 75% stake in the company to Togo-based Ecobank, in a deal that was worth over ksh 1 billion.
The brothers also own the iconic Emperor Plaza along Kenyatta Avenue.
In 2018, Business Daily reported that the brothers held the property on a 50:50 basis and had put it up for sale for approximately KSh 750 million.
They also own the iconic Fedha Plaza, which is located on Mpaka Road in Westlands, as well as Nairobi’s Westminster House along Kenyatta Avenue.