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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
MAY
2015
PROPERTY
The programme has also created 904
jobs and empowered 2 500 people
with best business practices. Plus, 43%
of programme beneficiaries are black women
owned enterprises and 95% of businesses
continue operating sustainably after graduating
from Property Point.
Now Property Point is taking two new
industry-changing steps. It is making itself
available to partner with property businesses
looking for a ready-to-go enterprise develop-
ment platform that delivers excellent, targeted
results. It is also calling for its next intake of
entrepreneurs to join the ranks of the 86 busi-
nesses that have already successfully partici-
pated in its two-year incubation programme.
With its roots as the enterprise development
programme of South Africa’s largest JSE-listed
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Growth-
point Properties, Property Point has been
changing the face of the South African property
industry one success story at a time since 2008.
This Growthpoint initiative is now ready to
effect even more transformation for the built
environment by partnering with other property
owners, developers and managers.
Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point
and corporate social responsibility at Growth-
point Properties, explains: “Since Property
Point’s inception, it was always Growthpoint’s
intent to create an initiative that fosters collab-
oration and innovation in the industry.”
He adds: “We’ve carefully grown Property
Point, done our homework and created a
winning recipe for enterprise success for the
property industry. We’re now in a position to be
a catalyst for further collaboration and partner-
ships in enterprise and supplier development.”
Theunissen believes enterprise develop-
ment organisations can have a greater and
more meaningful impact by joining together
than by working in isolation or viewing other
players in the space as competitors.
By linking SMEs and procurement, the
Property Point programme unlocks real supply
chain opportunities, ensuring sustainable
transformation and job creation. Its efforts
have gained it a strong understanding of small
businesses in South Africa as well as the goals
and targets of enterprise development and
procurement professionals.
With its track record of success for
supporting small businesses, Property Point
has flourished to catch the attention of the
industry at large.
“Over the years, several property sector
peers have shown interest in our model and
approach. They’ve encouraged us along the
way. Now we’re pleased to be in a position to
share it with the industry,” says Theunissen.
“We believe the programme has the potential
for greater impact on a larger scale, and one of
the proven ways of doing this is collaborating
with like-minded leaders and organisations.”
And it’s this spirit of collaboration that
takes Property Point’s programme well
beyond a question of compliance and into the
realm of making an impact on the industry and
the economy.
“We are able to target interventions to help
BRINGING SMALL BUSINESS AND
PROPERTY COMPANIES TOGETHER
Property Point has already enabled South African small businesses
to generate over R217,4-million in procurement opportunities and
report revenue growth of 27,5% – well above the national average.
Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point
and corporate social responsibility at
Growthpoint Properties.
>
develop SMEs based on our partners’ needs.
Yet, the programme also drives economic
transformation far beyond this. The quality of
work from SMEs will improve, the businesses
on the supply chain will be run at a higher level,
and collaborative efforts have the potential to
transform the property industry.”
Property Point has just opened its next
application window for entrepreneurs to join
its incubation programme. It is looking for moti-
vated individuals running SMEs that specialise
in electrical work, hygiene services, plumbing,
landscaping, pest control, air-conditioning, fire
protection services, security, waterproofing,
and painting.
The entrepreneurs need to be based in
or around Johannesburg; their businesses
should be at least 51% black-owned (as per the
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
Act of 2003); they must have operated for at
least two years; and, offer services needed in
the property industry. They must also be able
to provide references and prior contracts of
work, and prove that their business has the
potential to grow and become a success. In
addition, they cannot currently be on another
incubation programme.
developed and many developing econo-
mies. Levels of investment in real estate in
Africa are low by a global standard, while
significant challenges exist in exploiting
potential opportunities.
“However, our research suggests the
impact of global megatrends on Africa will
be huge. This will create a diverse range of
opportunities for the real estate industry
Africa – opportunities that often differ from
those available in more developed markets.”
The global impact of these trends are
supported by the findings of a second report,
Global Emerging Trends in Real Estate® 2015
,
which is an annual forecast of global real
estate investor sentiment published jointly
by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC.
The report, based on the views of senior
global property investors, identifies several
‘megatrends’ affecting markets around the
world, each of which has implications for
development and investment: increasing
urbanisation (the majority of the world’s
population now lives in urban areas); demo-
graphic and social changes (including a
significant rise in the number of older and
elderly people); technology advancements;
the rise of economic power in emerging
markets (due largely to an expanding middle
class); and climate change.
PwC global real estate leader, Kees Hage,
says: “There is a wall of capital targeting real
estate opportunities in many markets across
the globe. The search for better yields has
taken some investors into development
and secondary markets, moving them up
the risk curve. But investors must strike a
balance between the need to deploy capital
and the ability to achieve good returns, at a
time when there is such a difference in the
economic conditions across the globe.
“Real estate investors have a wide range
of issues to consider when making invest-
ment decisions. What is clear is that they
may have to approach those decisions in
a completely different way in the future.
Capital allocations may need to be made
to a wider range of asset types than ever
before, ranging from retirement and student
housing to data centres and self-storage.”
Also for the first time Africa is included
in the report. The report provides insight
into of the current African real estate sector
by focusing on the key markets through a
series of interviews with leading players in
the industry who provide their views and
outlooks on the investment climate.
French says: “As real estate inves-
tors around the world are faced with the
challenge of finding value and returns at
a time when core property is becoming
overpriced in almost all markets, Africa
is now of increasing interest. We believe
African real estate has unique drivers for
growth, as highlighted in the two reports
released by PwC.”