Stima Investment Co-operative Society has signed loan agreement with Shelter Afrique to co-finance the development of a housing estate at Syokimau for sale. The Sh395 million loan will go into the construction of houses and related infrastructure at the development dubbed Stima Village, according to Shelter Afrique.

Stima Investments broke the ground in July for actual construction. The housing units, which sit of a five-acre plot, add up to 76 luxury maisonettes of which 40 are three-bedroom and 36 four-bedroom. Provisional prices for the houses have been pegged at Sh9.2 million and Sh9.85 million for the two- and three-bedroom units respectively.

Land prices in Syokimau have shot up after the dualling of Mombasa Road and the ongoing construction of a commuter rail network, with a terminus being built at the neighbourhood. Stima Investments was registered in 2005 with one of the objectives being to invest in real estate both for rental and sale to members and the public.

The co-op has engaged in various projects in the past such as developing the Stima Investments Plaza whose expansion was completed in June 2011. The fully occupied commercial building is its main income earner. Besides real estate development, the co-operative society engages in buying bulk land across the country, subdividing and selling it off to its membership of over 4,000.

"We also intend to start selling direct to the public to enhance our sales and enhance our income," the co-op says on its website. Stima Investments uses a mixture of debt and equity to finance its developments and has a real estate investment fund where members contribute in addition to capitalised dividends.

One of its strategic objectives is to build and sell at least 50 housing units per year. The co-op's membership is drawn from the energy sector including Kenya Power, KenGen, Ketraco, Rural Electrification Authority and independent power producers.

The co-op also invests in money markets where it holds stocks of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange with a view to earning capital gains and raking in dividends. It says it's evaluating off-shore investments as an additional avenue to boost income streams subject to availability of funds.