This post tries to give you a broad perspective on Coliving in Africa, there are two main countries offering spaces, Morocco and Sooth Africa, in addition, some archipelagos like the Canary Islands and Cape Verde are well known for their colivings… We also address the housing crisis in the continent…
Africa is a beautiful continent, full of diversity, nature, and culture. Lots of travelers and remote workers look for communities and coliving in Africa as a good way to discover the continent with other people from all around the world.
Coliving is helping many remote workers and Nomads discover the African culture from a different perspective, more locally and even having a good impact on the community.
Traveling alone to some African countries could be some kind of a challenge for some of us, research about security, health issues, lack of some infrastructures, need to be done before landing…
Coliving and community
When booking a Coliving in Africa you avoid most of these problems, you are not alone, the community can help you to gather information, avoid health risks, and most importantly understand and enjoy nature and culture in a deeper way…
Community is key in every coliving, and is the main reason to book one unit or another in Africa. Finding like-minded workers and travelers made the experience unforgettable.
Most colivings offer dinners and breakfast with local products, one of the best ways to taste the local food and meet people from other countries and locals…
Different events will also introduce you to locals and other Nomads.
WIFI
Internet connectivity is getting better and better in general in Africa and most colivings offer coworking spaces so they have to ensure a good internet speed.
Because work has to be done, all colivings provide good wifi to work.
Wi-Fi reliance should be something to consider and research carefully when choosing an Airbnb or any type of accommodation in this part of the world. Still, wifi in any coliving space shouldn’t be a problem, and that´s something to take very seriously.
Anyway, it is recommended to have a backup plan in case the WiFi goes down.
Local Impact
Most remote workers and Nomads are quite conscious about local impact and they look for a local experience.
Many of them prefer accommodations run by locals and spend their money in local shops and restaurants, always remember to “Support local business in your travels”
In general Digital Nomads and remote workers are looking for a cultural experience, they are respectful of local traditions, but most importantly, by showing respect they build relationships with locals, which is actually the ultimate goal.
Having a good impact in your coliving adventure in Africa is more important than ever, sharing knowledge and networks with locals as well as helping NGOs or local companies with your expertise should be one of your goals.
Something about Coliving spaces
It is not very easy to research and find coliving spaces in some African countries, considering the coliving movement something relatively “new”, most units are not run by locals, but by travelers or Nomads that fall in love with the destination, looks like some international coliving brands are opening spaces in the continent.
The main countries for coliving are Morocco and South Africa, both of them with very good offers, for accommodation, community, surf and yoga…
I found this coliving operator that I want to highlight. Noqta is a coliving and coworking space in Essaouira, Morocco, the place, the concept, and the local team behind the space look amazing…
They are next to the sea, with countless possibilities, from Kite surfing to yoga…
Morocco offers a good variety of coliving spaces, with good weather and speedy internet many remote workers spend some months a year in the country…
Canary Islands and Cape Verde
Around Africa continent, there are some archipelagos, like the Canary Islands. In our case, we prefer to consider the Canaries part of Europe, but looking at the map, like it or not, we are Africa, it is true that socially, culturally, and economically we are Europe, but we are quite far away from that continent…
Canary Islands and Cape Verde offer a good variety of coliving spaces, good weather, good internet speed, and lots of services together with great connectivity, making these islands a paradise for many remote workers in the world.
Houssin Accessibility
I wouldn’t like to talk about coliving in Africa without addressing the problems of many millions of Africans to build, find, or buy a proper house in their countries and cities…
Africa has big challenges to face in the near future, with a growing population Coliving could help to give shelter and quality of life to millions of citizens…
The lack of affordable housing is a great problem for many African cities. This shortage of housing units across the continent with the lack of basic services has to be addressed in different ways, like cooperative housing, social housing, microfinance, affordable housing by the government, and also with Coliving…
The situation is too complicated to be faced with only one solution, but needs different approaches in different cities and countries… As we all know differences between the North and the South of the continent are huge…
Affordability is one important asset for some coliving operators, sharing spaces, could help many citizens and families to save some money as well as help them land in new cities with the help of the community.
