There was no reliable way
to check a title document.
So we built one.
Addis Ababa, 2024. Habesha Properties started as a question: why does buying land in Ethiopia still feel like gambling?
Title fraud is not a minor problem in Ethiopia. It is the default risk. A piece of land in Bole gets sold to three buyers using forged documents — and all three are convinced they own it. The only way to find out is to physically visit the land registry in Addis, wait in line, and hope the records are up to date.
For the Ethiopian diaspora — people in Washington, London, Toronto, Dubai — that trip is not an option. They wire money home based on photos sent over WhatsApp. Scammers know the distance and exploit it deliberately. Families who worked for years to build something back home lose everything in a single transaction.
Price opacity made it worse. There was no public price data for Ethiopian property. An agent would quote a diaspora buyer 2–3× what they would quote a local, knowing there was no benchmark to argue against. Hiring a consultant to get a proper valuation cost more than most people were willing to pay.
Habesha Properties was built to close that information gap. We built an AI that reads title documents — stamps, seals, ownership chain — in 30 seconds and returns a verdict. We built valuation tools that pull neighborhood price data and give buyers a number to negotiate from. We built an assistant that speaks Amharic, because property law is hard enough without the language barrier.
"We are not replacing agents. We are giving buyers the same information agents have always had."
The platform
Upload a photo of any title document. The AI reads the stamps, signatures, and ownership history and returns a SAFE, RISKY, or FRAUD verdict — with the specific red flags listed. Takes 30 seconds.
Every listing can be valued instantly. The AI pulls neighborhood price trends, floor area, year built, and comparable sales to give a price range and estimated rental yield.
Ask anything about a property in Amharic or English, at any hour. No consultant fee. The assistant knows Ethiopian land law, local neighborhoods, and the buying process.
Every listing goes through an agent verification step. Title-verified properties are marked clearly. Prices are shown in both ETB and USD for diaspora buyers.