Co-living – what Gen-Zs and late millennials now know as shared apartments in Nigeria, is not a new concept.
The co-living movement that we see today, according to co-living.com, is interspersed with the surging sharing economy- a societal deviation away from consumerism and towards a peer-to-peer bias.
The advent of the Internet has made it easier than ever for people to find the things that they need directly.
The growth of platform businesses like Uber, Udemy, Airbnb, BuyLetLive, WeWork, etc. is expanding the shared economy model, enabling individuals and groups to build wealth from unused or underutilized assets like cars and spare bedrooms.
The contemporary co-living communities springing up around the world are a manifestation of this renewed cultural movement towards resource-sharing.
Other factors like increased housing prices, diminishing environmental resources, social isolation in the digital age, and the millennial viewpoint of valuing experiences above all else are driving the growth of the co-living model across the world.
The impact of these factors differs across different countries and continents. For instance, the decision to opt for a shared space can be more socially driven in some places than in others.
In Africa, the co-living model has grown phenomenally over the past decade. In the early days, analysts forecasted the adoption of co-living.
The current data shows a contrary view. It appears that several factors, mainly the need for better amenities and cost savings, are driving up the cost of co-living, making co-living more attractive to the younger generation.
This is evident in cities like Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, and most recently Nairobi, where average rents are higher.
Beyond the economic reasons, there are other factors causing Gen Zs and late millennials to opt for co-living or shared spaces in the following paragraphs, we explore this subject in more detail, including an