Building the Digital Backbone for Village Market

Overview

Village Market is a 250,000+ sq ft mall hosting approximately 230 shops and restaurants, managed by a team of 50+ administrative staff. Despite its scale, leasing and tenant operations were run entirely through emails, spreadsheets and physical files. Innovative Tech Labs designed and built a purpose-built Leasing Management Platform that centralises the full leasing lifecycle into a single digital system.

Client Context

Village Market is one of Nairobi's most established retail and hospitality destinations — a 250,000+ sq ft mall with approximately 230 shops and restaurants, managed by a team of 50+ administrative staff. As the portfolio grew, the limitations of manual, email-based operations became increasingly costly.

The Problem

Village Market's leasing operations had no single source of truth. Tenant records, lease terms, and communications were distributed across inboxes, filing cabinets and spreadsheets. There was no shared view of the pipeline, no proactive tracking of lease renewals, and no data to support strategic decisions about tenant mix. Off-the-shelf solutions weren't a fit — what was needed was a system built around how the team actually works.

Our Solution

Innovative Tech Labs designed a purpose-built Leasing Management Platform with three core modules: a visual Leasing Pipeline tracking every prospect from inquiry through to active tenancy with a signed lease; a CRM and Communication Tracking layer giving any team member full context on any account; and a Tenant Dashboard and Lease Management module that surfaces expiring leases in advance and provides data for portfolio planning.

Implementation

Exploration began in August 2025. The first release was delivered in December 2025, prioritising the core modules for immediate operational value. Development has continued on a rolling basis since, with real-world feedback directly shaping the roadmap. Upcoming phases will digitise tenant onboarding, integrate tracked communications, connect lease data to the Village Market website and app, and build integrations with the events platform, maintenance system, and ERP. Built on ReactJS (frontend) and Python (backend), hosted in the cloud.

Impact

The full leasing pipeline is now visible in one place — no more searching across emails and files. Manual work has been significantly reduced and information is centralised and always current. Team coordination has improved through communal notes and shared records. Lease renewals are surfaced proactively, giving the team time to plan. Management now has structured data to inform tenant mix and portfolio strategy. The platform is forming the digital backbone of Village Market's broader operational infrastructure.

Results

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