Invest back home without taking anyone’s word for it
For investors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Gulf and Asia buying land, property or a business in Africa. AfricaQore is the independent layer between you and the agent, the developer or the family intermediary: statutory land rights, registry maturity, company formation rules and capital repatriation requirements — each with the instrument it comes from, and “Unavailable” wherever nothing is published.
- 8
- Priority markets
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- With verified tenure
- 54
- Countries covered
Highlighted markets open a full setup & land playbook
Written for
The corridors we cover
The desk assumes you are managing the transaction at a distance, in a different time zone, through people you did not appoint.
United States
Largest single source of diaspora remittances to the continent.
United Kingdom
Deep West and East African professional networks.
Canada
Fast-growing recent-migration corridor.
Gulf & Asia
UAE, Qatar and Singapore holding-company corridors.
Land rights
What a non-citizen may hold, market by market
Read from the AfricaQore statutory dataset. A blank field means no published statutory position, not a low figure.
| Market | Foreign tenure | Max lease | Registry | Customary risk | Transfer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ghana | Leasehold | 50 yrs | Part-digital register | High customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Nigeria | Leasehold | 99 yrs | Part-digital register | High customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Kenya | Leasehold | 99 yrs | Part-digital register | Moderate customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 South Africa | Freehold | Unavailable | Fully digital register | Moderate customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Rwanda | Leasehold | 99 yrs | Fully digital register | Low customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Senegal | Restricted | Unavailable | Part-digital register | High customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Tanzania | State land | 99 yrs | Paper-based register | High customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
 Egypt | Restricted | Unavailable | Part-digital register | Low customary-claim exposure | Unavailable |
Statutory terms change. Open a market’s playbook for the named legal instruments behind each figure, and confirm against the primary source before committing capital.
Title verification
Six gates before money moves
A diligence sequence that applies in any jurisdiction. Each gate is an action you commission, not one you accept from the seller.
- 1
Official search at the land registry
Commission the search in your own name, or your lawyer's, at the national or regional land registry. Never accept a search result handed to you by the seller, the agent or a relative — request the registry's own stamped output and check the date on it.
- 2
Independent survey and site identification
Instruct a licensed surveyor you appointed to confirm the parcel on the ground matches the coordinates on the title document. Parcel-boundary disputes, not forged deeds, are the most common cause of loss.
- 3
Chain of transfer and customary consent
Trace every prior transfer back to the original grant. Where land sits under customary authority, confirm who holds the allodial interest and whether the family or stool consent required for a valid transfer has been given in writing.
- 4
Encumbrance, caveat and rates check
Confirm there is no mortgage, caveat, court injunction, compulsory acquisition notice or unpaid ground rent and property rates attaching to the parcel.
- 5
Foreign-holding capacity check
Confirm the interest you are buying is one a non-citizen may lawfully hold in that market, and for how long. Where freehold is closed to foreigners, a sale presented as freehold is a warning sign, not a bargain.
- 6
Registration, not just a signed agreement
A signed sale agreement is not title. Hold back the final tranche of the price until the transfer is stamped, assessed for duty and entered on the register in your name or your company's name.
Capital repatriation
Get the exit right on the way in
Exchange-control approval is granted against records created at the time of investment. Most of these cannot be produced retrospectively.
Register the capital when it arrives
Most exchange-control regimes only permit profits, dividends and sale proceeds to leave in proportion to capital that was formally recorded on the way in. Obtain the inbound capital-importation evidence from the receiving bank at the time of transfer — it cannot usually be created retrospectively.
Use a licensed bank, not an informal transfer
Route the investment through a bank licensed as an authorised dealer in that market. Informal or hand-carried transfers leave no admissible record of the inflow.
Decide who holds the asset before you pay
Personal name, a locally incorporated company, or a holding company in a third jurisdiction — each carries a different withholding-tax and exit profile. Changing it after acquisition usually triggers a second round of transfer duty.
Confirm withholding and treaty position
Check whether a double-taxation treaty exists between your country of residence and the target market, and what rate applies to dividends, interest, rent and capital gains.
Keep audited local accounts
Exchange-control approval for an outbound dividend is typically granted against audited financial statements and tax clearance, not against management figures.
Ghana
Capital registered with GIPC and channelled through a licensed bank; transfers guaranteed under the GIPC Act.
Nigeria
Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) issued by an authorised dealer bank is the precondition for lawful repatriation of dividends and capital.
Kenya
No exchange controls; after-tax dividends and capital are freely remittable through a licensed bank.
South Africa
South African Reserve Bank exchange-control rules; introduced funds must be recorded by an authorised dealer to be repatriable.
Rwanda
Investment Code guarantees repatriation of capital, profits and loan repayments for registered investors.
Senegal
BCEAO / WAEMU exchange regulations apply to transfers outside the franc zone.
Tanzania
Tanzania Investment Act guarantees unconditional transfer of profits and capital for certificated investors.
Egypt
Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 guarantees transfer of profits and capital abroad through the banking system.
Long-distance risk
Where diaspora transactions usually fail
Not exotic fraud — four ordinary failures that recur across every market.
Unlimited power of attorney
A general power of attorney granted to a relative or agent allows them to sell, mortgage or transfer the asset without you. Limit any power of attorney to a named transaction, a named parcel and a fixed expiry date.
Payment before registration
Payment in full against an unregistered agreement, or into a personal account rather than a lawyer's client account, removes your remedy if the transfer fails.
Multiple sales of the same parcel
The same parcel being sold to several buyers is the classic long-distance fraud. Only a dated registry search in your own name detects it.
Off-plan developments without a registered scheme
Confirm the developer holds registered title to the site and that the development has planning approval before paying a deposit on an unbuilt unit.
Ask the analyst
Scenarios written for diaspora investors
Open the AI Analyst with one of these and it answers only from retrieved, source-cited platform data.
Questions
Diaspora investor questions
Can a non-citizen own land outright in African markets?
It depends entirely on the market. Some allow freehold to foreigners, some restrict it by asset class — agricultural land is the most commonly restricted — and others limit non-citizens to leases or rights of occupancy. AfricaQore shows the statutory position and the maximum lease term for each market, with the legal instrument it comes from.
How do I verify a land title from abroad?
Commission an official search at the land registry in your own name or your lawyer's, instruct a surveyor you appointed to confirm the parcel on the ground, trace the chain of transfer including any customary consent, check for caveats and unpaid rates, and hold back the final payment until the transfer is registered in your name.
How do I get profits or sale proceeds back out of the country?
Most exchange-control regimes allow money to leave in proportion to capital that was formally recorded on the way in. Route the investment through a licensed bank, obtain the inbound capital evidence at the time of transfer, keep audited local accounts, and confirm the withholding rate and any double-taxation treaty with your country of residence.
Is it safer to buy in my own name or through a company?
Each carries a different tax, exit and liability profile, and in some markets a company may hold an interest a foreign individual cannot. Decide before you pay, because restructuring after acquisition usually triggers a second round of transfer duty.
Do I need a power of attorney for a relative to act for me?
If you grant one, limit it to a named transaction, a named parcel and a fixed expiry date. An unlimited general power of attorney allows the holder to sell or mortgage the asset without your involvement.
Start with the market you know
A free account with a confirmed email opens the full setup & land playbooks. A paid plan adds the statutory directories, transaction-cost modelling and downloadable dossiers.