Women In Property A Property Review Supplement August 2019

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IN PROPERTY

WOMEN A PROPERTY REVIEW SUPPLEMENT AUGUST IN PROPERTY

WOMEN

AUGUST 2019

A PROPERTY REVIEW SUPPLEMENT

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From the CEO SAPOA’s ďŹ rst ladies Meet the women who led us into an equal future Changing the Sandton skyline The X-factor: A new way to deliver excellence in property services On the African beat Fostering and facilitating municipal relationships SAPOA in search of data Stock selection key in listed property after a tough 2018 Leading education, training and development Brokering meaningful networking events Keeping abreast of legal matters ProďŹ les Ncumisa Lupondwana-Fakude: Co-founder and Executive Director of Azzaro Quantity Surveyors Training a new wave of professionals ProďŹ les Passionate about education and efďŹ ciency A proptech innovator ProďŹ les Taking charge of transformation

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FOR EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES, email editor@mpdps.com Published by SAPOA, Paddock View, Hunt’s End Office Park, 36 Wierda Road West, Wierda Valley, Sandton PO Box 78544, Sandton 2146 t: +27 (0)11 883 0679 f: +27 (0)11 883 0684 Editor in Chief Neil Gopal Editorial Adviser Jane Padayachee Managing Editor Mark Pettipher Copy Editor Ania Rokita Production Manager Dalene van Niekerk Designer Eugene Jonck Sales Pieter Schoeman | e: pieter@mpdps.com Finance Susan du Toit DISCLAIMER: The publisher and editor of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised within this edition. Copyright South African Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA). All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from SAPOA. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material.

Printed by Designed, written and produced for SAPOA by MPDPS (PTY) Ltd e: mark@mpdps.com

e: philip@rsalitho.co.za

SAPOA women in property

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2019

From the CEO SAPOA’s first ladies Meet the women who led us into an equal future Changing the Sandton skyline The X-factor: A new way to deliver excellence in property services On the African beat Fostering and facilitating municipal relationships SAPOA in search of data Stock selection key in listed property after a tough 2018 Leading education, training and development Brokering meaningful networking events Keeping abreast of legal matters Profiles Ncumisa Lupondwana-Fakude: Co-founder and Executive Director of Azzaro Quantity Surveyors Training a new wave of professionals Profiles Passionate about education and efficiency A proptech innovator Profiles Taking charge of transformation

FOR EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES, email editor@mpdps.com Published by SAPOA, Paddock View, Hunt’s End Office Park, 36 Wierda Road West, Wierda Valley, Sandton PO Box 78544, Sandton 2146 t: +27 (0)11 883 0679 f: +27 (0)11 883 0684 Editor in Chief Neil Gopal Editorial Adviser Jane Padayachee Editor Mark Pettipher Copy Editor Ania Rokita Production Manager Dalene van Niekerk Designer Eugene Jonck Sales Pieter Schoeman | e: pieter@mpdps.com Finance Susan du Toit DISCLAIMER: The publisher and editor of this magazine give no warranties, guarantees or assurances and make no representations regarding any goods or services advertised within this edition. Copyright South African Property Owners’ Association (SAPOA). All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from SAPOA. The publishers are not responsible for any unsolicited material.

Printed by Designed, written and produced for SAPOA by MPDPS (PTY) Ltd e: mark@mpdps.com

e: philip@rsalitho.co.za

SAPOA women in property

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From the CEO “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” Oprah Winfrey

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n an industry that is traditionally male-dominated, it is encouraging to see more and more women entering the property space.

Our lead story this year is testament to the strength, agility and determination that women have in South Africa. These women in particular have created and project-managed the tallest tower in Africa – a beacon that stands above Africa’s “richest square mile”.

The fallacy that women are not as capable as their male counterparts in certain sectors has been disproved over and over again – in governance, in the private sector and in the whole of the property industry.

Femininity does not affect a person’s capacity for innovation, expertise and technological advances – on the contrary, today’s women leaders are successfully breaking the “glass ceiling”, and are dynamically strengthening their role in society.

Through innovation and education, they are taking

the lead when it comes to entrepreneurship and job creation.

However, it is alarming to see that, in 2018, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report found that South Africa has the 19th smallest gender pay gap out of 149 countries. The report also found that only 3,3% of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange have female CEOs. Organisations such as SAPOA continue to rally behind women and encourage gender and racial transformation in the property industry. We believe that there is a need for new schools of thought within the sector, and SAPOA continues to place gender equality and inclusion as a priority on all fronts.

We are a member-driven organisation, and the majority of our committees are lead by women. Our example to the industry is indicative of our desire to enjoy a time where absolute equality is realised to a point that gender dynamics are completely eroded in the workplace.

Neil Gopal, CEO

There is much to be done, and to this end, this publication celebrates the women in property who have secured their place in a sector that plays such an important part in the country’s economy. Long may they have a pivotal role in our sector and society.

“We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”

Marie Curie o

STANDING, FROM LEFT Aluwani Madzimbalale (Housekeeper), Rechelle Jevon (Executive Personal Assistant), Mitta Ndaba (Committee Coordinator), Nkepile Setshedi (Admin Officer), Zukiswa Thembani (Receptionist), Jane Padayachee (Marketing & Services Manager) and Maud Nale (Public Relations Officer) SEATED, FROM LEFT Varusca Sewpersad (Bookkeeper), Mafonti Morobi (Education Officer), Susan du Toit (Finance & Admin Manager), Mumtaz Moola (Legal Consultant) and Puseletso Dube (Events Specialist)

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SAPOA women in property

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Work your way

SAPOA’s first ladies Lynette Finlay President, 2004 to 2005 As the first female SAPOA President, Lynette Finlay, Chief Executive Officer of Emerging African Property Holdings, a property investment company that is 80% black-owned (of which 47% are black women), had a front seat in the transformation agenda of the association. At the inception of the Property Charter in 2004, SAPOA was one of the driving forces behind ensuring all parties were at the negotiating table. It was a much-needed platform for the industry to share views on a workable way forward, strengthening everyone’s position in the industry – including women. The industry has come a long way since then, and people of all races and genders now take up their rightful place in top positions to make a significant impact.

Along with the Property Charter, SAPOA focused on introducing more educational programmes at university level to encourage young people to enter the industry. SAPOA’s National Council was restructured to include heads of committees, thus building the organisation’s knowledge base and effectiveness.

Women’s role in business has always been important. Finlay was one of the founding members of the Women’s Property Network, which was instrumental in encouraging women to play a greater role in the industry. She was also the first winner of the Five Star Woman Award, which recognised women for their substantial impact in the property industry. Lynette is a Non-Executive Director of Growthpoint. o

Marna van der Walt President, 2007 to 2008 When Marna van der Walt, then-Chief Executive Officer of JHI Properties, prepared to take the helm at SAPOA in 2007, her chief concern was not that she was taking up a position often held by men, but that she was not adequately prepared. It was a challenging time for the industry: the global economy had just entered a recession, and in South Africa, all stakeholders were occupied with the finalisation of the Property Charter for the property industry.

Although Van der Walt says that she felt her age at the time to be a disadvantage, and wishes that she’d had a little more wisdom, she did not hesitate when Alex Phakathi, the President of SAPOA at the time, invited her to take up the responsibility. She played a significant role in the industry’s transformation, with her Board making a major contribution to the Property Charter while also implementing the Bursary Fund and motivating for educational courses aligned with Services SETA accreditation – a noteworthy accomplishment. o

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SAPOA women in property

Amelia Beattie President, 2014 to 2015 Amelia Beattie, Chief Executive of Liberty Two Degrees, coined the phrase of “putting the ‘REAL’ back in real estate”, focusing on relationships, education, advocacy and leadership during her tenure as SAPOA President. “Today that still rings very true,” she says. “We have to make sure that, as leaders in business, we remain real and put humanity back into leadership.

“Human connections in everything we do should be at the forefront of what we deliver in an increasingly difficult environment. As one of the only female Chief Executives in the listed property sector, I believe we have the opportunity to do things differently, and make sure we blend what’s important with what needs to be done.” o

Nomzamo Radebe President, 2016 to 2017 “The property industry consists of many different parts – like the pieces of a puzzle – and that it’s important to recognise all the different pieces. When assembled, they make up a powerful combined force able to succeed as a whole.” This is the thought-provoking observation of Nomzamo Radebe, Chief Executive Officer at Excellerate JHI and the first black woman President of SAPOA. Radebe took the reins at an emotional inauguration ceremony in 2016, an event that marked a transformation breakthrough in the commercial property space, and highlighted the fact that black women are receiving due recognition in the property industry. “The ongoing transformation of our industry is a spark of light for many, giving them hope and excitement for the future,” she says.

During her time as SAPOA President, one of Radebe’s focus areas was furthering the association’s education initiatives. She also played a key role in introducing new talent and skills to the sector via the Bursary Fund, which she served as Chairperson for many years. o

Ipeleng Mkhari President 2018 to 2019 Ipeleng Mkhari established the first black woman-owned CCTV business, before founding Motseng Investment Holdings in 1998. She is now the company’s CEO. She has a bachelor’s degree in social science, has completed the Executive Development Programme at Wits Business School, and is an Archbishop Tutu Fellow. She is currently a non-executive director at KAP Industrial, Nampak, Attacq and SAPOA. “I have lost so much on my journey of 20 years,” she says. “But I have also gained so much.

I have succeeded, I have failed. Everything has meant something in building me.” o

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Martin Luther King Jr

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Women leaders

Meet the women who led us into an equal future Lilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi

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ilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi or “Mma Ngoyi” (25 September 1911 – 13 March 1980), was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and helped to launch the Federation of South African Women.

Prior to working as a machinist at a textile mill, where she was employed from 1945 to 1956, Ngoyi had enrolled to become a nurse. A widow with two children and an elderly mother to support, she

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also worked as a seamstress. She joined the ANC Women’s League in 1952, and was elected its President a year later.

On 9 August 1956, along with Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa, Sophia Williams-De Bruyn, Motlalepula Chabaku, Bertha Gxowa and Albertina Sisulu, Ngoyi led a march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings of Pretoria in protest against the apartheid government requiring women to carry passbooks as part of the pass laws.

Ngoyi was also a transnational figure who recognised the potential influence that international support could have on the struggle against apartheid and the emancipation of black women. With this in mind, she embarked on an audacious (and highly

Women leaders a journey that would see an attempt to stow away on a boat leaving Cape Town under “white” names, defy (with the help of a sympathetic pilot) segregated seating on a plane bound for London, and gain entry to Britain under the pretext of completing a course in Bible studies. With Tamana, she would visit England, Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Russia and China, meeting women leaders often engaged in

left-wing politics, before arriving back in South Africa a wanted woman.

Ngoyi was known as a strong orator and a fiery inspiration to many of her colleagues in the ANC. She was arrested in 1956, spent 71 days in solitary confinement, and was placed under severe bans and restrictions for 11 years, which meant she was often confined to her home in Orlando, Soweto. o

Helen Beatrice Joseph

“Men are born into the system, and it is as if it has been a life tradition that they carry passes. We as women have seen the treatment our men have – when they leave home in the morning, you are not sure they will come back. We are taking it very seriously.

If the husband is to be arrested and the mother, what about the child?”

Lilian Ngoyi

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elen Beatrice Joseph (8 April 1905 – 25 December 1992), was a South African antiapartheid activist. Born Helen Beatrice May Fennell in Sussex, England, she was the daughter of government Customs and Excise officer Samuel Fennell. In 1923, she was admitted to the University of London to study English, and graduated from King’s College

London in 1927, then departed for India to become a teacher.

After working at Mahbubia School for Girls in Hyderabad for three years, she moved to South Africa and settled in Durban. There she met and married Billie Joseph, a Jewish dentist 17 years her senior.

She served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during World War II as an information and welfare officer. After the war (and her divorce), she trained as a social worker and started to work at a community centre in a coloured area of Cape Town.

Joseph was a founding member of the Congress of Democrats, and one of the leaders who

“I don’t doubt for a moment that the revolution will result in a non-racial society” Helen Joseph read out the clauses of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in Kliptown in 1955.

Appalled by the plight of black women, she played a pivotal role, along with Lillian Ngoyi, in the formation of the Federation of South African Women, and together with the organisation’s leadership spearheaded the march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in August 1965 to protest against pass laws.

This day is still celebrated as South Africa’s Women’s Day. o

illegal) journey to Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1955 to participate in the World Congress of Mothers held by the Women’s International Democratic Federation.

Accompanied by fellow activist Dora Tamana, and as an official delegate of FEDSAW, she embarked on SAPOA women in property

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Women leaders Rahima Moosa

One of identical twin sisters born in the Strand in Cape Town, Moosa was brought up in a liberated Islamic environment and attended Trafalgar High School in District Six, but dropped out of school without completing her education. Annoyed by the policies of the apartheid government, she and her sister Fatima campaigned for change.

In 1951, she married her comrade activist Dr Hassen “Ike” Mohamed Moosa, who had already stood trial for treason at the time. They moved to Johannesburg and had four children.

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ahima Moosa (14 October 1922 – 29 May 1993) was a member of the Transvaal Indian Congress and later the African National Congress. She is well known for the role she played in the national uprising of women on 9 August 1956. She was also a shop steward for the Cape Town Food and Canning Workers Union.

Sophia WilliamsDe Bruyn

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ophia Theresa Williams-De Bruyn (born in 1938) is a former South African antiapartheid activist. She was the first recipient of the Women’s Award for exceptional national service. She is the last living leader of the Women’s March of 1956.

Born in Villageboard, an area that was home to people of many different nationalities, she was the child of Frances Elizabeth and Henry Ernest Williams.

She says her mother’s compassion for others is what helped her develop a sense of empathy.

When her father joined the army to fight in World War II, Williams-De-Bruyn’s mother moved the family to a new housing development, specifically

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The couple were very active in the South African Indian Congress and later the African National Congress. Moosa herself was also at the forefront of representing Indian women during apartheid. She was listed as an enemy of the apartheid regime despite becoming ill after a heart attack in the 1960s. She died on 26 May 1993, a year before South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. Her husband and her children remained active in the African National Congress after her death. o

SAPOA women in property

built for coloured people. She dropped out of school and started work in the textile industry. Workers in the Van Lane Textile factory asked her to help “solve their problems with factory bosses”, and she eventually became the shop steward. She later became an executive member of the Textile Workers Union in Port Elizabeth.

Williams-De Bruyn was a founding member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU).

After the government introduced the Population Registration Act in the 1950s, she was appointed as a full-time organiser of the Coloured People’s Congress in Johannesburg. After the Coloured Population Act was passed, Williams-De Bruyn was assigned by the Coloured People’s Congress to work with Shulamith Muller on issues relating to pass laws.

When she took part in the march on 9 August 1956, she was only 18 years old, making her the youngest of the four leaders. These women ducked around the guards stationed at the Union Buildings to deliver their petition to the ministers’ door.

In 1959, she married Henry Benny Nato De Bruyn; they had three children. Her husband was also an activist in the liberation movement, and an Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier. Their home became a haven for anti-apartheid activists such as Raymond Mhlaba, Elias Motsoaledi and Wilton Mkwayi.

Women leaders

“I felt a lump in my throat when I looked at this large army of women: dignified women, courageous women. I felt so humbled to be part of such bravery.”

Sophia WilliamsDe Bruyn

By 1963, her husband was forced into exile in Zambia, where he was appointed Chairman of the Regional Political Committee of the ANC. She joined him six years later, completing her studies and obtaining a teaching diploma in 1977 while working as an administrator for the ANC in Lusaka.

As a result, she became one of the founding members of the ANC education council in 1980.

The council set the curriculum for the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, established by the exiled ANC in Tanzania.

Williams-De Bruyn returned to South Africa with her husband after the ANC was unbanned. In 2001, she was the first recipient of the Women’s Award for exceptional national service, and received the Mahatma Gandhi Award in the same year. She

SAPOA women in property

became a member of the Commission of Gender Equality, then joined the Gauteng Legislature in 2004 and became its deputy speaker from 2005 until 2009, before moving to the Parliament. She gave a special address at the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Women’s March in 2016.

She is currently a provincial legislator for the ANC in Gauteng. o

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Changing the Sandton skyline Catharine Atkins and Malika Walele are just two of the majority-female team of architects involved in the Leonardo project, now officially the tallest tower in Africa

FROM LEFT Salomé Daley, Catharine Atkins and Malika Walele

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She spent a year interning at Co-Arc in 2013, before completing honours and master’s degrees in architecture at Wits. In 2016, she returned to Co-Arc full time to work on design development, technical documentation, marketing and visual representation for various projects in South Africa, the UAE, Botswana, Nigeria and Ghana. She has been on site at the Leonardo pretty much every day since the beginning of 2017, and is also the firm’s in-house photographer for projects and marketing campaigns.

When Co-Arc started on the project, the scope of the work was limited to the basement levels. “But we were very aware we were constructing a basement that would have a tower on top of it one day,” says Walele. “This meant that all the services required by a potential tower had to be catered for within our basement. As we kept building, the project grew: first there was a 33-storey tower, which increased to 42 levels, then 43 and eventually 55. During that time, we had to keep designing the growing number of floors while the construction work was ongoing. Coordinating the consultants, engineers and the greater team proved to be a huge challenge.

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SAPOA women in property

even years ago, the Legacy Group approached Co-Arc International Architects to work on the Leonardo project in the heart of Sandton – a building that has since officially been recognised as the tallest tower on the African continent. According to Director Catharine Atkins, the long-standing working relationship the two companies have enjoyed since the 1970s is a key reason Co-Arc was elected to work on the project.

Atkins is a senior architectural technologist with 21 years of experience in the industry and a BTech qualification from Wits Technikon (now UJ). As part of Co-Arc, she has collaborated with various professional teams on successful projects in South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria. The Leonardo tower tested every aspect of her technical and coordinating abilities, and increased her passion for collaboration in delivering complex, functional designs. “To have a mostly female team working on this project is surreal,” she says. “What we’ve been able to achieve is mind-blowing. It’s been a huge learning curve, and we’ve proved ourselves.”

One person who’s proved herself by working as the site architect on the Leonardo is Malika Walele.

“Another challenge stemmed from the fact that we didn’t actually break our own ground or dig our own hole – we ‘inherited’ a site from a previous project that had failed. So we had to adopt foundations that had already been laid, and our basement gridlines had to work with what had already been built. Structurally, the challenge was to transfer the load of our tower onto various keyhole columns that would suit that gridline.”

Upon commencement of site work, Co-Arc and the professional team learnt that approximately a million rand’s worth of concrete had already been cast by the previous contractors to support the core of the planned building. It couldn’t be removed or replaced, which limited the Leonardo to only four basement levels.

“We were constrained by the boundaries of the site, and there was a constant concern of the temporary gunite collapsing inwards,” says Walele. “We were doing groundwork, but the original gunite had to stay exactly where it was.”

“The geotechnical challenges of the small site for such a tall building were the soil conditions that changed from one support footing to the next,” adds Atkins. “It took us almost a year to be able to start

casting surface beds. The brief to the structural engineers was to cater for the maximum amount of storeys, so the foundations were cast to accommodate that possibility, despite it not being the initial projected height of the building. The core of the tower was also designed to the minimum width it could take without being negatively affected by seismic activity.

Several service levels with sheer concrete walls throughout the height of the building are designed to ‘hang’ the floors below them; in the unlikely case of a column failing, those walls will support those levels.”

Walele believes there’s a preconception in the industry that women don’t belong on construction sites, or are not equipped to be there. But what the Leonardo has taught her – and many others in the built environment – is that women are more than capable. “My biggest learning experience has been on this construction site, and I had to work extremely hard to prove myself,” she says. “But if the property space or architecture is your passion, this kind of environment is incredibly rewarding. You physically see the impact of your work once a building is complete. I think women need to be more proactive about getting onto building sites. Being in an office is not enough, and university can only teach you so much – being around a construction team, various consultants and project managers exposes you to greater learning opportunities than you’d experience in an office.

“It’s not easy to be a woman surrounded by 2 000 men daily. We’ve been fortunate that the contractors’ management team has been sensitive towards the challenges we faced. While the Co-Arc team assigned to the Leonardo project is mostly women, gender has never been an issue in our company. Women bring an interesting dynamic to any team, so the idea of men being more capable needs to take a back seat. Our team is as strong as it is because of its members. More organisations need to accept transformation and diversity as beneficial practices that will help them grow.”

Atkins believes that if you want to succeed in this industry, you can’t let yourself fade away into the background of a group. “You have to put yourself in uncomfortable positions, and be willing to learn and prove yourself,” she says. “You have to step forward and make yourself heard, or you’ll be walked over. It takes guts, but you have to keep pushing. The knowledge and experience that we’ve gained from the Leonardo site is invaluable. Co-Arc is a small firm in the bigger picture, but we work with what we have – and the high level of

skills of all our staff means we didn’t have to hire additional people. Because we don’t pander to anyone’s ego, we also don’t worry about which one of us is doing which tasks. Each of us can create a site-development plan – and each of us can make a cup of tea!”

In challenging economic times, Co-Arc is fortunate to have partners in Botswana and Ghana to help with additional revenue streams. While the political and economic climate can be turbulent, Co-Arc remains positive about the company’s position in the industry and the country. “As a result of working on the Leonardo, people in the industry (and outside of it) know who we are,” says Walele. “People now associate Co-Arc with the tallest building in Africa. That’s marketing gold.

There is so much potential for us to grow from here, and once this project is officially open, we hope to see new business opportunities. Our doors are open!” o

The Leonardo in numbers ● Building height: 233m ● 230 apartments ● 140 luxury hotel rooms ● 3 200m2 premium penthouse ● Building area: 125 500m2 ● Concrete in building: 55 763m3/139 407 tonnes, or the equivalent of 19 915 African elephants ● Total steelwork: 9 170 tonnes ● Total glazing: 28 064m2 ● Total fibre: 80 000m ● Direct employment opportunities: 2 000 ● Between 18 000 and 20 000 indirect employment opportunities ● Total investment: R3-billion

The Co-Arc team in front of the Leonardo – the tallest tower in Africa

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

Oprah Winfrey

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Women in JV

The X-factor

A new way to deliver excellence in property services There is no easy answer to the question of whether to perform property services in-house or to outsource these crucial tasks. Now, with the creation of ATTX, the recently established property services joint venture between Atterbury and Excellerate Property Services (EPS), the new structure aims to add significant value to properties under management through a vertically integrated approach First published on www.atterbury.co.za

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Lucille Louw, Managing Director of Atterbury Asset Managers

all it an in-house outsourced model: in this novel approach, property-services expertise is housed within Atterbury but managed operationally by JV partner Excellerate, all within ATTX. “The reason for the creation of ATTX revolves around vertical integration, bringing together two partners in a best-in-class property services business that benefits both partners, Atterbury and Excellerate,” explains Managing Director of Atterbury Asset Managers Lucille Louw.

According to Marna van der Walt, CEO of Excellerate Property Services, the company’s ideal model for effective and efficient delivery of property services to landlords of a certain size is to create joint ventures instead of them having to choose between an outsourced or in-house relationship. “This in-house outsourcing business structure allows integrated service delivery while ensuring operational accountability for what matters most,” she says.

What makes the ATTX joint venture work so well is a clearly understood division of who is responsible for what. While ATTX occupies space in the Atterbury head office in close proximity to Atterbury’s asset

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SAPOA women in property

managers and other services, and Atterbury has a direct impact on strategy and business holistically, Excellerate is responsible for all operational activities of the new company.

The traditional defining line between asset manager, property manager and landlord disappears in a vertically integrated joint-venture relationship that delivers operationally effective and strategically aligned property services efficiently. The experts thus do their job in-house, with the mind-set of a thirdparty specialist supplier.

In addition, Van der Walt says, vertical integration the Excellerate way can also enter the realm of facility management, such as the provision of security, cleaning and many other services.

How “we and you” became “us” Van der Walt further explains that for people in property services to perform at their best, they need to be managed carefully in a goal-driven, happy environment. “With ATTX, we have created a sound structure that allows the best of both worlds in practice,” she says. “We love our association with Atterbury through ATTX.”

Women in JV

The comfortable ATTX head office occupies a new section inside Atterbury’s Die Klubhuis HQ in Hazelwood, Pretoria. In addition to the staff based in Atterbury’s office, ATTX delivers property services on-site with feet on the ground for the benefit of Atterbury’s many developments throughout South Africa.

It’s as though the Atterbury motto of a matter of association became real in practice through the creation of ATTX, says Louw.

“For a landlord, the advantage of third-party outsourced property services is that such arm’s length relationships can be managed as client/supplier associations. But being part of the JV gives you the opportunity to have that, and the ability to look after the staff as your own.”

“The creation of ATTX is only the start of an exciting new chapter in Atterbury’s story,” says Louw. “We have already mapped out a long-term plan to improve our overall property services delivery infrastructure with Excellerate as a partner. This partnership also has the capability to operationally deliver property services to our international properties.”

In-housing a traditionally outsourced services business can be a tough task with many challenges – but in ATTX, Atterbury and Excellerate have established a new association with all the characteristics of a gamechanging endeavour. Walking around the ATTX office, it becomes clear that as far as the experts working in the new company are concerned, it’s all systems go.

ATTX is empowered at a B-BBEE Level 1. o

Marna van der Walt, CEO of Excellerate Property Services

“When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion; creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”

Dale Carnegie

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On the African beat Nnema Byrd is Portfolio Manager for STANLIB Africa Development Fund, and an elected board member of SAPOA

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nema Byrd has been working with STANLIB since 2014. She joined the asset manager of the Africa Direct Property Development Fund team as an Investment Principal, and eventually took on the role of Portfolio Manager for the Fund. The Fund’s mandate is to deploy investor capital in the development of office and retail projects in key Sub-Saharan African markets.

In the past year, she has been responsible for strategic exits from markets that were once buoyant, while focusing on realising optimal value in development projects that remain in key growth areas.

As the Portfolio Manager for the Fund, Mrs. Byrd is the key person responsible for the operations and success of the Fund. The role requires her to execute on the business strategy and achieve the financial return objectives of the Fund and its investors. “We are in a period of significant change, wherein the property markets outside of South Africa are maturing and in many cases, deepening.

However, this growth comes on the back of some fall-out and learning experiences. The past couple of years have shown us the importance of rigorous investment due diligence and sound pre-feasibility analysis.

Some challenges cannot be mitigated against.

Investment sentiment has changed with regards to property investment on the continent. “We are privy to the headlines showcasing the attractiveness of offshore markets competing for capital and offering stable, hard currency returns, and the impact this has had in our property markets. However, there still remains global and local capital looking for opportunities on the continent. Long term, patient capital is most appropriate for weathering untimely exogenous shocks our markets experience.”

Byrd travels throughout Africa for STANLIB, and has over the years gathered great insight into the complexities of the continent’s commercial property sphere. She’d like to see SAPOA’s reach extending beyond South African borders. “SAPOA is an organisation with more than 50 years of experience in the most developed property market on the continent, one that rivals many

global markets,” she says. “I’d like to see some advocacy work done outside of South Africa’s borders. There are SAPOA members exploring those countries, and there’s a great need for advocacy efforts on behalf of property owners and investors.” She foresees collaboration and partnerships between SAPOA and smaller organisations throughout Africa – relationships that would include the transfer of knowledge and expertise.

Byrd confirmed her love of the built environment by choosing to study architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US. During her program, she worked in her field, but discovered a yearning for a greater involvement in property’s business side. Upon completing her degree and obtaining some more on-the-ground experience, she returned to school to complete an MBA, and later earned her Certified Financial Analyst charter. Her early work exposure and mentors provided her with the confidence to go after her dream of merging the property development and finance.

I do not believe in using women in combat, because females are too fierce.

Margaret Mead

As a result, Byrd acknowledges the tremendous impact of SAPOA’s educational initiatives, and believes that the organisation’s collaboration with tertiary institutions translates into practitioners who are well equipped to meet the precise needs of their roles within the industry. She praises the SAPOA team headed by CEO Neil Gopal and the organisation as a whole for driving the various supportive training initiatives to the point where they’re making a significant impact on the students. “It benefits everyone in the ecosystem, particularly given what this sector contributes to the GDP of the nation,” she says. Byrd has participated in the hiring and development of young talent, in the industry, and volunteers on the advisory board of a varsity property program, where she contributes to the development of a competitive curriculum for students and helping to promote real-world training and hiring of students from disadvantaged backgrounds into the industry. o

15

Fostering and facilitating municipal relationships Bernadette Khumalo is the Chief Executive Officer of Rokwil Property Development, and SAPOA’s KZN Regional Chairperson

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rowing up in our household, there was no distinction between roles for men and roles for women. My dad said that we, the girls, could do anything a man can,” says Rokwil CEO Bernadette Khumalo.

She never had reason to believe otherwise. Khumalo completed school at the age of 16, and her honours degree was done and dusted by 21. She studied BCom Accounting, and began work at Investec in Private Banking and Growth & Acquisitions. “I was given the opportunity to work in the property division, and that’s when I fell in love with everything about property,” she says. She was particularly drawn to the structuring of deals, and how to assess a project’s feasibility to ensure it came to life.

Khumalo admits to a lifelong fascination with buildings. “I’d always looked at them, and wondered about the process involved in taking a bare piece of land to a completed structure,” she says. “Once I knew, I became more captivated when, as the project team, we stayed on to ensure that funds were used wisely, and tackled issues that threatened to derail it. Sure, I made mistakes – but I also learnt a great deal.”

She always knew she had a bigger role to play. “When I was seven, my dad had a picture of me inserted into a light globe. Printed on it was,‘You are the light of my life.’ I knew it meant more than that to my dad. It was a prophecy that I’d be the light

16

SAPOA women in property

of other people’s lives as well. With what I’d been given, he wanted to know what I was going to do with my life to help other women, especially the previously disadvantaged.”

This has stayed with her.

From Investec to Ithala Bank and Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking – Real Estate, Khumalo gathered the skills, confidence and determination to venture out. “I partnered with property developer Rod Stainton, whom I’d known for more than 10 years, and who’d always seen potential in me,” she says. “He understood that I would be his business partner in Rokwil, but that I needed to do more than finance deals. I needed to understand property development in its entirety, and help more women, particularly black women. That’s the platform I’m on now.”

By way of example, Khumalo describes Rokwil’s Keystone Park project: “We’re not ordinary developers.

We’ve created a steering committee, comprised of the elders of the community – being the ward councillors and all the other business units – where job and business opportunities are sent out to the community.

We audit those job opportunities to ensure fairness.”

Khumalo is involved in the Property Charter. “I’m passionate about education. Without it, we’ll never shrug off historical disadvantages, and never have a level playing field.” She is also involved in a wing of EDS, EDS Africa. “They see the changes in South Africa, and that having empowered people adds authentic value to their company.” EDS has exposed her to another aspect of property: structural and civil engineering.

So, naturally, she signed up for a civil engineering degree… “Knowledge is power!” she says. “A developer with professional knowledge has an advantage.”

Khumalo became KZN Regional Chair in March 2018 and is serving her 2nd year term. She believes that, after years of trying, the team’s achievement of a solid working relationship with the eThekwini Municipality is a critical breakthrough. Fostering and facilitating this collaboration will be a strong focus this year. o

SAPOA in search of data Women in Property speaks to SAPOA’s Research Committee Chairperson Elaine Wilson

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earing in mind that one of SAPOA’s roles is to keep its members informed about current trends and statistics, SAPOA Research Committee Chairperson Elaine Wilson says the Committee will continue to commission its reports – Office Vacancy, Industry Vacancy, Cap and Discount Report, Operating Costs, Rates and Taxes, and the Retail Trends report. There will also be specific reports dealing with GDP and municipalities. These are part of the membership package, which can be accessed at and downloaded from SAPOA’s website, www.sapoa.org.za.

Wilson is the head of research at Broll, and is well placed to make decisions about the kind of reports that will be most relevant to SAPOA’s members. She is mindful of the need to be current with information, and is aware that reports may be outdated by the time they come out.

SAPOA’s role in research is to complement reports that are already in play. Reports such as Office and Industry are relevant because they are not produced by other research houses and are aimed specifically at SAPOA members.

On the whole, SAPOA is not a research house – so the organisation outsources the research and the compiling of reports to institutions such as the University of Pretoria, Urban-Econ and MSCI. “We need to ensure that our reports are relevant – and while we will have the usual reports, we will need to be flexible in our approach and aware that there’s a need for ad hoc reports as well,” says Wilson.

“Reports are important to our members because a number of them are decision-makers in the industry.

Our reports need to be analytical as well as factual.

For example, in terms of Office reports, statistics change on a regular basis, so while the base report will be the same, the statistics and trends will vary on an ongoing basis.

“Trends, topicality and relevance: these are the key factors that dictate what SAPOA needs to

keep in mind. We also need to be aware of what reports have been issued by other bodies. There is little point in bringing out a report that has already been commissioned and released.”

As elections come and go, so do mayors and their committees. “With the change in mayors, you will find that the city and municipal reports are usually the same in terms of statistics but that the scope may change,” says Wilson. “Each mayor has his or her own ideas and priorities, and this has a huge influence on a city’s planning.

We need to be aware of the personnel changes, and we need to be prepared for the differences in the dynamic of a city’s governance. These differences may come about because you get a new head of town planning, for example, whose interpretation of the city’s requirements may differ from the interpretations of previous planners. And so plans change as well.

“The sad thing is that there are many plans that have been produced based on research, and many ideas that are brilliant that simply don’t get off the paper they are planned on. We could have really great cities if the plans saw the light of day…”

Wilson admits to being a perfectionist when it comes to producing reports. She insists that all reports must have a flow, that each report must tell a story, and that every statement made must be qualified and substantiated.

“There must be answers to everything that we say in our reports,” she says. ”Our reports are about providing clear, concise information to our members – so they have to be presented in a very clear and concise way.” o

Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay.

Dalai Lama

17

Stock selection key in listed property after a tough 2018 Liliane Barnard is the Chief Executive Officer of Metope Investment Managers.

With more than three decades years of experience in listed property and investment management, she also adds her substantial expertise to SAPOA’s REIT Committee in her capacity as Chairperson of the unlisted REITs sector

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the scenes, markets are still there – albeit weaker,” she says. “We will have to ride this cycle out. An important lesson learnt from last year is to find the positive features, and to build from there.”

Last year, the Financial Sector Regulation Act came into force in April, and the Twin Peaks model of financial sector regulation created a prudential regulator, the Prudential Authority, while the FSB was transformed into a dedicated market conduct regulator, the FSCA. As Chairperson of the unlisted REITs sector, Barnard has had ongoing contact with the National Treasury in her efforts to advocate that unlisted REITs should have the same tax benefits as the listed REITs sector – in order to level the uneven playing field between the two.

While there was some discussion in Parliament in the February 2019 Budget Review around the issue, there has not yet been sufficient progress, says Barnard. Regarding the role being played by the FSCA in the listed property sector, she would like to see more engagement and additional assistance in getting the unlisted REITs sector off the ground.

Barnard is passionate about listed property and says that she is thrilled to see young women increasingly coming into the sector, and thereby transforming the industry. “My advice to my younger colleagues is, work hard and apply yourself,” she says. “There are so many opportunities in this

18

SAPOA women in property

s one of the most seasoned female fund managers in the listed property sector, and having held diverse and influential positions such as the Head of Listed Property Asset Management at Old Mutual and heading up asset management at Old Mutual Properties, Liliane Barnard has invested in listed property throughout all cycles.

Therefore, when she reflects back on the exceptionally difficult period in the listed property sector last year, she is level-headed. She points out that 2018 was marked by an ongoing confluence of negative factors that occurred throughout the year, and which resulted in investors taking flight.

The year started with huge nervousness created in the market by the Steinhoff debacle, which broke in December 2017. This was followed by short sellers’ reports that had a negative impact on the market (buoyed by social and print media attention around the Resilient stable of companies), foreigners exiting our market in a flight from risk, and emerging markets across the world getting knocked. The sector’s woes were further exacerbated by nervousness created by US president Trump and the Chinese trade wars, as well as companies in the sector re-basing their earnings.

The above happened against a background of a 15-year period of solid performance from the listed property sector and an economy that has become significantly weakened.

Barnard says that while 2018 was an exceptionally difficult year for the sector, there are a number of opportunities that now look attractive – but stock selection remains absolutely crucial. “If you look behind

industry, and you will need to look creatively for solutions to the challenges that you will face. Be sure to use your industry contacts to network, and find solutions by engaging and working together with other women in the property sphere.” o

Leading education, training and development Londiwe Mthembu is the Managing Director of the Abcon Group Foundation, and the Chairperson of SAPOA’s Education, Training and Development Committee

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ondiwe Mthembu, the MD of the Abcon Group Foundation, is a town planner by profession, and has a master’s degree in the discipline. She’s been involved in spatial planning and transformation at the City of Johannesburg, but moved to Mogale City so she could “plan less and implement more”. During her work with township regeneration and social infrastructure, she recognised she needed to up-skill in business and project management, so she completed a postgraduate degree in business administration through Wits

Business School. The exposure to business, finance and entrepreneurship courses, together with the opportunities that Abland presents as a big property developer, brought a new passion for enterprise development.

This has resulted in a major focus on the growth of Abheka Investments, a black-owned private equity investment company, which distributes 100% of its profits to the Abcon Group Foundation and seeks to touch on one of the top agendas of our time: contributing towards the economic growth of South Africa through empowering small businesses. Abheka Investments is an enterprise development custodian, supporting small black businesses that will eventually become suppliers to Abland. The support involves access to markets, capital and loan requirements, financial recordkeeping, technical and business development support, and mentorship.

Mthembu has worked to “close the loop” and ensure the Foundation assists its beneficiaries to cover the full circle, from supporting the Hawk Academy School in Germiston, where Abland is developing an industrial precinct in partnership with Redefine, to a holistic focus on education, from funding bursaries in full (including accommodation and books) to facilitating internships and access to employment, and providing a platform for enterprise development.

Through this vehicle, the Foundation has facilitated, funded and supported the establishment of a landscaping firm, which now has more than 50 fulltime employees. “We are currently supporting two small businesses – an aluminium and window-glazing

“You, the parent, are your child’s first teacher and his best teacher. It’s an awesome responsibility, but one that brings immeasurable rewards.”

Jacquie McTaggart

company, Bontle Aluminium, and a tenant installation company, Winners of Success,” says Mthembu. “To start, we partner these businesses with experienced, wellestablished Abland suppliers to ensure further skills transfer and high quality of services. Abheka Investments commits to and measures the annual growth of these businesses in turnover and in the number of jobs created.”

Mthembu believes that if black businesses are supported and integrated into the economy, and jobs are created, this will drive transformation solutions in the industry. “If you empower one black person, you are feeding a number of households,” she says. “We cannot deny the cultural and moral obligation black people feel towards their family, colloquially known as ‘black tax’. It’s a cultural need to manage and protect our social reputation and status by not leaving our family behind to suffer. We start seeing these patterns even in the SAPOA Bursary students: while they are studying, they have to get part-time jobs to support their family.

For these reasons, I’m determined to become an advocate for transformation in my corner, through the platforms provided to me via the Abcon Group Foundation and Abheka Investments.”

Mthembu is the Chairperson of the Education, Training and Development Committee at SAPOA. Her proudest moments come when students complete their degrees and there is a 100% absorption rate from the industry. o

Follow us on social media: Abcon Group Foundation t: 011 510 9721 info@abcongroupfoundation.org.za or call

19

Brokering meaningful networking events Marita Meyer is Niche Properties – her own commercial property brokerage in Pretoria – and is currently serving as Chairperson of SAPOA’s Broker Committee

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it’s business, and I’m more business-oriented,” she says. “It’s not that I’m not patient or empathetic with clients – I am – but I enjoy the commercial sector’s complexity, minus the emotional component mostly associated with residential property.” Meyer’s working world before property was in IT – she has a BSc in computer science. She believes there’s a commonality: logical thought processes and practical results.

As a one-woman band – and very content with that – Meyer has fine-tuned her role to enable her to operate at maximum efficiency. “I’m the broker, not an expert at everything. I connect experts,” she says. “You can’t be the best at everything, so I stay firmly in my area of expertise: bringing a potential client to the table, and allowing experts to do what they do best.”

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SAPOA women in property

arita Meyer has been in property for 21 years, earning her stripes in all sectors, from residential to commercial sales and development. Her career was always about property. , but she worked her way to where she was most comfortable. “Even when I was selling residential property, it was largely land assembly – putting together properties for redevelopment. And that led me to commercial,” she says. That was 10 years ago; today, she is the principal of Niche Properties, one of the few female brokerages operating in the commercial space.

Meyer considers herself eminently more suited to the commercial property arena. “It makes very different demands on you than residential” – it’s rarely emotional,

As the principal and sole broker in her own business, Meyer works extremely hard – and even if she’s called upon to work 24/7. , she will. “Working in commercial property has enabled me, largely, to retrieve my weekends.” In addition, she puts in the necessary hours in between. “I work at the pace of my clients – and each one is different,” she says. “There’s a great deal of thought that goes into commercial property, and numerous dots to connect. You need to give yourself space and time to think. If you just keep on grinding away, you never get time to focus and refocus. You have to zoom out to the bigger picture, then zoom back in to the details – it’s a constant balancing act.”

At the heart of her business is networking and forming good working relationships with developers, building owners and landlords. “Clients, Buyers and tenants fluctuate change, but commercial property doesn’t change hands often, so those relationships are always important and often long-lasting.”

Meyer considers her principal strength to be problemsolving. “I listen to the client people around me, and try to come up with a and present acceptable solutions, even if out-of-the-box sometimes” she says. “I will try to get whatever is necessary done. If I don’t succeed, it is never through lack of trying. I’m a proactive person.”

Meyer’s been on the SAPOA Broker Committee for a few years, and is its newly elected current Chairperson. She says her their primary goal is to grow SAPOA’s broker membership by providing a platform where attention is given to brokers’ interests. “We want try to create meaningful networking events to enable brokers to be up to date, connected and informed about things they might not normally come across on a day-to-day basis.” She also feels very strongly about ethics: “It’s vital for our sector to focus on ethics, the small issues as much as the bigger ones.

You have to internalise ethical behaviour so you can truthfully and boldly project professionalism in your dayto-day conduct.” o

Keeping abreast of legal matters Stephanie Ainsworth’s role as Chief Risk Officer at City Property puts her in an ideal position to chair SAPOA’s Legal Committee. She was admitted as an attorney 18 years ago

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ity Property is an asset management company whose vision is to bring new life into cities – mainly Pretoria and Johannesburg – through urban renewal.

It creates living, working, shopping and leisure spaces that are customer-centric by building up-market, cosmopolitan, sophisticated properties. By constantly introducing new initiatives, the company aims to reignite consumer interest in inner-city areas.

Stephanie Ainsworth is responsible for legal, risk and compliance spheres of City Property Administration Proprietary Limited, a property and asset management company that provides services to Octodec Investments Limited and a number of private clients.

A typical day starts with oversight of several risk areas – strategic, operational, compliance, regulatory and competitive – followed by checking through the portfolio’s risk registers and scanning the newspapers and legislation bulletins for any economic or legal factors that may affect risk within the assets the company manages. Added to this is the monitoring and identifying of risk with the property owners, and taking corrective action where necessary.

Ainsworth has oversight over the legal department (a team of skilled attorneys), who are responsible for all legal agreements, drafting of leases, acquisitions, litigation, labour issues and anything that may impact tenants. “From a SAPOA perspective, I shall be looking at legal risk in a broader context,” she says. “The Committee will continue to monitor how the impact of legislation will affect and impact property owners.

“Our objectives as a Committee will remain. We will continue to provide the commercial property industry with practical information relating to the various legal issues facing the industry. I would like to see more engagement with property owners,

and I would like to be able to attend more public hearings to get legislators to understand the consequences and impact of ill-thought-out passing of legislation.”

Until we’re educating every kid in a fantastic way, until every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of things to do.

Bill Gates

When asked what advice she would give to women entering the legal side of the property sector, Ainsworth says, “Don’t be afraid to work hard – in fact, embrace every opportunity you get to learn and do things!” o

21

In profile

Atterbury’s ladies take the lead In its 25th year, believing in development as a catalyst for economic and societal growth, Atterbury has achieved an enviable name in the property sector. Women in Property spoke to three of the company’s leading ladies Seila Tshabalala

Solet Viviers

seila@atterbury.co.za

solet@atterbury.co.za

Group Financial Manager

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Seila Tshabalala completed her studies at Wits, and got involved in the property industry when she joined Atterbury Property.

Prior to her role at Atterbury, she worked for Deloitte as an auditor.

“My greatest challenge in a typical work day is ensuring that the finance department remains adaptable to how quickly things change and move at Atterbury,” she says. “Every deal is different, and with several deals happening concurrently, it is challenging to ensure that the team remains in the loop while also making sure that day-to-day accounting and processing continues and follows due processes.

“What I love about the property sector is that it’s so fast-paced. It constantly challenges me and keeps me on my toes.”

Considering what she would like to change about the property industry, she says it’s essential to show people the scope of the opportunities available in the sector. “This ever-changing, exciting sector provides a huge number of unexplored opportunities to people with a diverse range of skills and personalities,” she says. “I would love to see young people embracing its full capacity.

“The sector has been male-dominated for a long time, and it will still be a while before true equality is attained. Women in the industry should support one another in dealing with the challenges they face.

I encourage young women not be deterred by the distorted image of imbalance in property – rather search out the diverse range of opportunities that currently exist.

“In this industry, it is important to understand your stakeholders and to build meaningful long-term relationships with them. That’s the best advice I can give women entering the sector: relationships are the key to operating in it and navigating it successfully.”

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Leasing Manager

With a BCom (Hons) Informatics, Solet Viviers says she was fortunate that the Spar Group invested in her and allowed her to enrol in various property courses through SAPOA and the University of Pretoria, including the Basic Property Programme, Property Intermediate Programme, the Programme for the Commercial Property Practitioner, and the PDP. “After varsity, I joined the Spar Group and eventually settled in the New Business team,” she says.

“I was responsible for store sales and securing new stores within the Spar North Rand division. This is where my path crossed Atterbury Property’s. After nine years at Spar, I joined Atterbury Property in 2013.”

When it comes to gender equality, Viviers says, “At Atterbury Property, I can honestly say that a woman’s place within the organisation is not affected by our gender, but by our attitude and performance. I prefer to focus on the opportunities for women rather than the opportunities that are not there.

“My advice to women who want to get into the property sector is to make sure you are passionate about property before joining the industry. I especially enjoy being part of a team that ensures new developments come to fruition.”

Lindy Ras

Quantity Surveyor

lindy@atterbury.co.za

In her role as a registered quantity surveyor, Lindy Ras works closely with Atterbury’s development managers to ensure they optimise the land they acquire, and effectively recoup the expenses on the land through effective and considered top structure projects.

SAPOA women in property

With a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pretoria and an honours degree from the University of the Free State, Ras has attended SAPOA’s Project Management Programme and Negotiation Skills Master Programme, and is looking forward to the day she will be able to enrol in the PDP. Her opinion on gender equality in the sector is that women get plenty of opportunities. “We’re strongwilled, so if we don’t get opportunities, we make them for ourselves,” she says. “People say you should be thickskinned and tough to deal with construction crews, but I tend to disagree. Legal, admin and finance opportunities are also plentiful – and they’re important positions that construction workers, development managers and contracts managers rely on.

“Women tend to be more empathetic, which can be a huge attribute in the construction industry – but it can also be a hindrance. And we can’t really expect to be treated equally if we’re not willing to put in equal effort.

“I love the property sector because it’s based on facts, numbers and physical evidence. There are very few grey areas, and the rewards are tangible. We’re talking about beautiful buildings, creating infrastructure, living space and entertainment areas, and adding to people’s quality of life every day.

“Making numbers work is the greatest challenge I face in a typical day. Clients and tenants must both be happy, and able to get value for their money.

“The market plays a big role in terms of land acquisitions, types of developments and the ability to be involved in successful developments. With this in mind, I’d like to try to integrate accounting systems with quantity surveying software, and thus streamline the financial processes for everyone.” o

+27(0)12 471 1600 www.atterbury.co.za

Ncumisa Lupondwana-Fakude: Co-founder and Executive Director of Azzaro Quantity Surveyors

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orn in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, Ncumisa Lupondwana-Fakude comes from a family of entrepreneurs. She matriculated at Kaffrarian High School for Girls in King William’s Town and set her eyes on the City of Gold for better opportunities. “Because I was good at maths, my career options were between medicine or one of the built environment professions.

I chose quantity surveying.�

She completed a BSc in quantity surveying at the University of Pretoria, and started as a Junior Quantity Surveyor with Turner & Townsend in January 2005. In 2008, she joined Nonku Ntshona & Associates Quantity Surveyors as a Senior Quantity Surveyor, working her way up to Associate Director. In September 2011, she joined Rand Water as a Senior Quantity Surveyor.

Lupondwana-Fakude is a Professional Registered Quantity Surveyor (PrQS) with the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession. She has undergone quality audit training based on the SABS ISO 9001:2008 Standard, and is qualified to carry out internal audits.

After many years of gaining experience and building her name in the industry, in 2015 she and her partners established Azzaro Quantity Surveyors. “With our combined expertise and knowledge in the construction and property industry in South Africa and on the rest of the continent, we felt it was time to start our own business,� she says. “The work we do goes beyond construction and property. Because this industry is a male-dominated one, we take pride in empowering women and driving transformation in this field.�

For the past two years, Azzaro has sponsored SAPOA’s annual women’s breakfast at the Sandton Convention Centre, which assists in addressing such issues in the industry.

Azzaro’s four-year journey has led to the company recently becoming part of the professional team on the Eastgate Shopping Centre redevelopment project, which won an award at the 2019 SAPOA Convention & Property Exhibition as the largest retail redevelopment.

Azzaro Quantity Surveyors predominantly offers professional quantity-surveying services in sectors such as retail, residential, healthcare, offices, energy, mixeduse developments, sporting venues, hotels and leisure, academic institutions and infrastructure (civil and mining). Most recently, Azzaro has ventured into the oil and gas sector. o

+27 (0)10 440 0101 Ncumisa@azzaroqs.co.za www.azzaroqs.co.za

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‚ ­ ƒ„ƒ ……ƒ ƒ„†„ ‡ ˆ ‰ � � ‡ ‚‚‚� ‰ � � “Activism is something no-one can fake. You get angry. You cry. But you never throw in the towel, because that anger is what is propelling you to further action.�

Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize laureate

23

Training a new wave of professionals The first in a four-block series of courses for candidates interested in becoming a Certified Property Manager® (CPM®) took place at Wits Enterprise from 1 to 4 July 2019.

The first block of courses included Marketing & Leasing for Office Buildings, and Leading a Winning Property Management Team. It was led by Shannon Alter CPM, one of the instructors with the Institute of Real Estate Management in the US

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hannon Alter is a real estate leader, a global trainer and the instructor for Block 1 CPM, now offered at Wits Enterprise in partnership with the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM).

The IREM partnership was brokered by Saul Gumede CPM, a board member of the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners, with the aim of fostering the development of the South African Chapter of IREM and professionalise the property management business once a certain number of candidates have passed through the programme.

Students can complete the education programme in one of two ways: they can take Blocks 1 to 4 through the IREM partnership with Wits Enterprise; or, if they hold Wits’s Postgraduate Diploma in Property Development and Management or a BSc in Real Estate, they can waive Blocks 1 to 3 and proceed directly to Block 4.

According to executive programme coordinator Professor Samuel Azasu, it was important for Wits to obtain a licence for both of these study options in order to provide courses that give an alternative entry point for certification to people currently in the industry who may not hold a degree.

“The course is challenging and involves a lot of work for the students, but it’s a great opportunity to stay relevant in a fast-evolving industry,” says Alter. “As an IREM CPM, you can operate worldwide. IREM has

24

a presence in more than 40 countries, and I’ve been fortunate to teach in eight of those. It’s exciting to help the various Chapters and students – and to lay the foundation in South Africa for raising industry standards and implementing worldwide best practices.”

Alter obtained her CPM certification in the early 1990s, and was convinced to become part of the IREM faculty of instructors by former colleague and fellow CPM Alan Alexander. Although Alter’s primary job is as a speaker/trainer, she says that being an IREM instructor is definitely the best role in IREM. “No matter how many real estate professionals you have in your network, the opportunity to teach industry professionals helps you connect with even more around the world,” she says. “It’s a great way to give back to the industry, and to encourage the next generation of professionals to become part of the real estate community.”

Alter’s career began in hospitality at Westin Hotels.

Like many in the US, she “fell into” the real estate space after her former boss at a hotel group joined a property management company. “It was a great opportunity that has served me well,” she says. “I have been very fortunate to work in many areas of commercial real estate – office, retail, mixed-use and industrial. If you’re thinking of joining this industry, go for it! If you’re new to the industry, go before you’re ready, as they say – you can learn along the way.

SAPOA women in property

“The IREM community is fantastic. The Chapter in South Africa is working on identifying mentors for current students, and I’ve personally encouraged students to take advantage of the chance to talk with their instructors and find out everything they can about IREM. We’re here for you. A great example is Nandi Malindi, who is the Executive Director and Treasurer of the IREM South Africa Gauteng Chapter.

She obtained her CPM in Chicago in 2017; this year she’ll be speaking at the IREM Global Summit on a panel regarding breaking the glass ceiling and empowering women in real estate.”

While the majority of course attendees at Wits Enterprise have some background in real estate, there’s plenty of information about IREM standards they haven’t been previously exposed to. “What we bring to the table is global best practices and how to put them into place,” says Alter. “We give professionals an opportunity to become part of this quickly expanding global industry. Ethics are a cornerstone of our business, so it’s required that every CPM candidate takes our ethics class. Doing the right thing at the right time is one of the foundations of the real estate environment – no matter the country or culture.”

Block 2 CPM for non-property-degree holders will be held in October. o www.irem.org

In profile

Bharathi Kawal

Carmen Collison

Nikiwe Mkhabela

Asset Management Executive

Asset Management Executive

Asset Management Executive

Retail specialist Bharathi Kawal has worked on Cell C’s national retail portfolio, and oversaw three provinces as a leasing manager at Standard Bank. She’s been with Liberty Two Degrees since inception, and an Asset Manager since 2018, with a portfolio that includes Botshabelo Mall and commercial office space in Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town.

Her journey into property was the doing of thenCOO of Cell C Dino Naicker. “I was his PA and bored with the job – and he could see it,” she says. “So he tasked me with finding new store locations for Cell C’s upcoming expansion. Two weeks later, he appointed me as a leasing and acquisitions specialist. That was in 2006.”

Kawal cites Liberty Two Degrees CEO Amelia Beattie as a role model. “She’s helped me see different perspectives and is always encouraging,” she says.

“She’s a huge inspiration – to see successful women in this industry is rare.”

Currently in her third year of BCom Law studies, Kawal lists stakeholder and time management as her biggest challenges. “I manage property managers, relationships with tenants and other stakeholders – and then I still have to work! But I wouldn’t change a thing. I have experience in representing both the tenant and landlord, which gives me great insight.

“Property as an industry is underrated. There’s so much opportunity for young women. There is scope for growth and success. I see myself as a property entrepreneur. I work closely with retailers, helping them run their business. One day I will use that knowledge for myself!”o

With a BCom in accounting from UWC and 15 years of industry experience, Carmen Collison has managed retail assets at SA Corporate Real Estate Fund, implemented a property management division for Motseng Property Services, and worked as general manager at Billion Property Services. She’s been with Liberty Two Degrees since 2018, managing the super-regional Eastgate Shopping Centre and Melrose Arch.

Collison was drawn into property by her aunt, and worked her way through its various aspects. “My greatest asset is my knowledge and understanding of the balance between property management and asset management,” she says. “My aunt taught me the value of balancing relationships and of processes. She’s an inspiration.” Another role model is Collison’s mother – a strong, independent perfectionist who still runs her own business.

Collison’s biggest challenge is time management.

“Every day is new, and I have to be prepared for anything,” she says. “My position demands agility and flexibility, so that I can resolve any issues as they come up.

“If you want to join the property sector, remember that working your way up from the bottom sets you up for success. These days, everybody seems to want the spotlight, but some don’t want to work for it.

In property, you have to earn your place, so that when you’re faced with challenges, you understand the underlying issues. Property is hard work; in retail you’re on call 24/7. But it’s worth it. I never imagined I’d one day be involved with these assets. My younger self would be blown away.” o

With an MSc from Wits, Nikiwe Mkhabela is an Asset Management Executive at Liberty Two Degrees. As of August 2018, her portfolio includes Liberty Two Degrees’ premium asset, Sandton City – which means she needs to make decisions quickly and respond appropriately to changing trends to stay relevant.

“Managing Sandton City comes with tremendous pressure to deliver – but I see it as an exciting challenge,” she says. “I’m responsible for the best-performing super-regional shopping centre in the country, as well as the prime offices and hotels in the precinct.

For a young black woman from a rural background, taking this leap was easy. But with the responsibility comes added confidence, because I have a wonderful support structure. Liberty Two Degrees has provided all the tools I need to grow and succeed.

Her parents remain her biggest role models. “They wanted me to be independent; to focus on developing myself so I could make a difference in my community.

That’s why I’d like to get involved in building schools and invest in rural areas. Education helps us become inventors rather than just consumers; it helps build communities that are self-sufficient.”

She believes the presence of women in boardrooms is increasing and will soon become the norm. “If you’re a woman entering the industry, I encourage you not to give up,” she says. “This sector is very rewarding because the results of your decisions are tangible.

Stay focused on your goals, be a self-starter, and don’t rely on others to do things for you. There are many opportunities here, so keep pushing for access.” o

+27 (0)11 448 5079 Bharathi.Kawal@Liberty2Degrees.co.za www.liberty2degrees.co.za

+27 (0)11 448 5915 Carmen.Collison@Liberty2Degrees.co.za www.liberty2degrees.co.za

+27 (0)11 448 6553 Nikiwe.Mkhabela@Liberty2Degrees.co.za www.liberty2degrees.co.za

“I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is an education. And I am afraid of no-one.”

Malala Yousafzai

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Passionate about education and efficiency For Turner & Townsend’s Noluthando Molao, there’s nothing more important than staying relevant as an industry player and moving the country forward

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s Associate Director at Turner & Townsend, Noluthando Molao is responsible for the company’s involvement in the public sector, specifically in business development, real estate and social infrastructure, with a view to increasing government efficiencies. A Wits graduate, she has more than a decade of experience in quantity surveying and project management, and is a board councillor of SACPCMP, the NHBRC and the Council for the Built Environment.

“The public sector is responsible for service delivery to our poorest citizens, so it’s imperative for it to operate efficiently,” says Molao. “As a global player, Turner & Townsend is perfectly positioned to assist in the formation of programme management offices in South Africa.”

Molao joined Turner & Townsend in 2014, and has been involved in the entire property value chain. At the heart of it lies a drive to fulfil the needs of the country and the continent. “I’m passionate about Africa because there are many opportunities here, and many conduits through which we can optimise those opportunities,” she says. “I love the spirit of collaboration developing between the public and private sector. It’s exciting. Even the current economic downturn can be seen as an opportunity to find new ways of being efficient, of getting value for money, and of pushing innovation in planning and delivering projects.”

Molao ended up studying quantity surveying after being introduced to a quantity surveyor when she was in matric. “I soon realised it was the right choice for me,” she says. “In order for this industry to grow and find solutions to problems, it needs diverse input and a holistic view – and this includes having women at the table. I want to ensure that, if my daughter were to go into the built environment one day, she wouldn’t have to face the challenges of the previous generation. I want the industry to remain relevant to the needs of its clients and the country, and I want to ensure that women have a voice.”

She believes that maths education is essential to a career in property. “You need maths, not just maths

26

literacy, because it provides the foundation for solving problems,” she says. “There’s no easy route to success here – you have to put in the work and earn your place.

Choose a reputable educational institution for your studies, and prioritise professional registration. When looking for a job, align yourself with a company that complements your values. You’ll be spending a large portion of your time there, so you need a sense of purpose. And as your career progresses, give back: become involved, become part of the transformation solution. That’s how you’ll stay relevant.”

Addressing the country’s education needs is close to Molao’s heart. “Turner & Townsend is committed to supporting previously disadvantaged individuals – we have a graduate programme for deserving students, who can earn an internship with the company,” she says.

“Most are eventually absorbed into various departments.

Because we’re a global business, our local stars can work on commissions outside our borders. I personally also work closely with GIBS and the University of Pretoria SAPOA women in property

as a facilitator on some of the construction courses.

I believe the way to transform an industry is to change the pipeline gradually.

“Our skills levels need work. Simple tweaks to the education system could result in people learning specialised skills to the benefit of the construction industry and the country. We are in desperate need of more artisans, and our institutions need to address that. Reviving TVET colleges would definitely help…

“Collaboration will ensure that whatever plans the government has for the future, we will have the skills to implement them. For the country to prosper, the work of our professionals has to be of the highest standard – not just locally, but from a global perspective.” o

Noluthando Molao Associate Director, Turner & Townsend +27 (0)11 214 1400 www.turnerandtownsend.com

A proptech innovator Palesa Moloi is using her CA qualification and her passion for smart technology to create an app that alleviates parking issues around the world

C

o-founder and CEO of start-up parking app ParkUpp Palesa Moloi studied accounting at Wits. While she was serving her articles and working for the Auditor General of South Africa in 2016, she audited Jorissen Place, a building at 66 Jorissen Street in Braamfontein.

“The building had limited parking, and the property managers were struggling to allocate the spaces available,” she says. “This forced people who worked in the building to seek parking elsewhere. That’s what sparked the idea for ParkUpp – I wanted to build something to help people find parking in the area.”

Together with co-founder Michael Savvides and the development duo of Thabang Sithole and Jabu Kunene, Moloi started to explore various products to test the models that were available at the time. The initial plan was to improve the parking experience at shopping centres – but that market was fairly small and already saturated with competing technology.

“We decided to look at the problem differently, and observed that, for example, people would park in the street right next to a building with an empty parking facility,” she says. “We realised this wasn’t necessarily a cost issue but rather an issue of access, and of not knowing about the available space or who to approach about it. We decided to bridge the gap between legitimate customers and property owners who were perhaps looking for additional income.”

In 2018, Moloi quit her job to work on ParkUpp full time. “We recently launched a web version of ParkUpp, and in just a couple of months we’ve had more than 200 listings,” she says. “For now, we’re focusing on listings and speaking to property owners and facilities managers; thereafter we’ll shift our focus to occupation.

If you’re a property owner with available space, you can enter the details onto the platform, with pictures, rates, amenities and security features; that content will then become searchable by prospective customers. It’s more

of an awareness campaign at the moment– we are experimenting quite a bit, and we don’t want to commit to building an expensive standalone app until we get the details right.”

While ParkUpp is not necessarily a unique offering, Moloi believes the way she’s approaching the market will prove to be successful. “Because we want to offer short-term parking options on an international scale, we have to make our technologies scalable,” she says. “Long-term parking is fairly easy to manage, because most property owners already have their own systems in place and would only need to give customers access once. Short-term parking requires a greater degree of management, so we want to make sure the tech we use is cost-effective and can be applied anywhere in the world. Ideally, we’d like to be able to tweak property owners’ existing systems to accommodate ParkUpp.” In order to understand the impact of the data collection inherently involved in her product, Moloi is taking part in a programme at the Explore Data Science Academy, studying machine learning and artificial intelligence. “We want to be able to apply algorithms to the data we’ll collect through our platform,” she says. “We want to transform the vast volumes of information into insights that we can share with, for example, city planners. This kind of access to parking or street data does not exist right now, which means that when the time comes to develop standards, city planners have to work with information that’s not accurate – and the standards they come up with can be arbitrary. We want to be able to inform the standards that guide how much parking will be required in future building

“As women, we must stand up for ourselves. We must stand up for each other. We must stand up for justice for all.” Michelle Obama

developments. Our aim is to strike the perfect balance between demand and supply.” o www.parkupp.co.za

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In profile

PropertyPoint: taking entrepreneurial initiatives to the property sector It is the dream of every entrepreneur to stand on his or her own feet. It’s their right to pursue the business of their choice, to fight on a level playing field, and to succeed – and fail – on their own terms

“P

roperty Point was launched by Growthpoint in 2008, and has established a decade-long track record of successfully developing sustainable small businesses,” says Shawn Theunissen, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Growthpoint Properties and founder of Property Point. “Over the past 10 years or so, it has changed the small-business landscape in the property sector, and has facilitated market opportunities worth R1,14-billion for the 168 smallmedium enterprises (SMEs) that have so far taken part in its two-year enterprise- and supplier-development programmes. Furthermore, it has also created more than 2 405 full-time jobs.” o

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Fiona Moola

Fundi Mazibuko

Director

Founder and owner

Fiona Moola took over the running of Benton Electrical Services from her ageing boss four years ago, and now oversees a team of 11 electricians on projects for clients such as Growthpoint Properties.

“Everything I’ve learnt about this business has been from my boss and from being on site,” she says. “I’m in charge of client retention, new business development and funds procurement, but I’m also studying further so I can be even more involved.” Her biggest operational challenge is funding. “There’s nothing you can’t do if you have money, so it’s important to find investors,” she says. “But client satisfaction is just as important; without happy customers, there would be no business.”

Moola says her mother and sister have had the biggest influence on her career. “My mother raised seven children and got us all through school. She’s incredible,” she says. “If not for her and my sister, I would not have moved from Ladysmith to Johannesburg, and I would not be where I am now. They transformed my life.”

She believes she was chosen for the Property Point initiative after a conversation with a Growthpoint senior manager. “I think she recommended me for the programme because she could see potential for growth and improvement in my business,” says Moola.

“I would like to expand and build something that lasts.

“Being a woman in this industry can be challenging, but don’t ever think you can’t do it. I started my working life in a fabric shop, before a chance meeting took me to where I am now. So be brave, believe in yourself, ask questions. You can succeed no matter where you come from.” o

Self-proclaimed “Hustle Queen” Fundi Mazibuko has experience in the corporate and public sector. She is a previous Chair of the Gauteng chapter of the WPN, and has served on the SAPOA Convention Committee. An alumni mentee of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, she recently completed her MBA at Henley Business School and will be graduating in September. She is also studying to be certified as a chartered board member through the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa.

Her property journey began as a trainee at Motseng Property Services, but it was her work at Excellerate Property Services that helped her identify a gap in the market: a lack of black woman-owned and managed signage and branding suppliers. Today, her clients include Hollard, Sun International, Black Sheep and Investec. She also co-owns Fullserve Services, a facilities service provider, with her husband.

“I’m an entrepreneur at heart,” she says. “I sell for a living and, as such, I see opportunities everywhere.

At Boz Signage, I focus on marketing, sales and client relationships. Most of our business comes via word of mouth, and most clients are people I know personally.

“Our biggest challenge is access to markets. I work with a team of agile designers, suppliers and installers, and despite the tricky economic climate, we have the potential to be busier than we are.

“My advice to any young entrepreneur is to have a support structure, the way Property Point has been for me. You need advice from someone who has travelled this difficult but exciting road. Also, never use your pension to fund your business – save up!” o

+27 (0)11 680 5128 +27 (0)11 433 2505 bentone@iafrica.com

+27 (0)11 050 0218 info@boztech.co.za www.boztech.co.za

SAPOA women in property

In profile

Khensani Mthembu

Refilwe Mashitisho

Bonolo Gueye

Co-owner

Director

Founder & CEO

Coming from a family involved in the property space, the industry seemed a natural choice for Khensani Mthembu, although she studied PR, worked at a bank and even tried her hand at catering. In 2012, she joined Kwetlekwetla Trading (KWT) part-time, becoming a full-time co-owner in 2015. Her responsibilities include client relationship management and sourcing new suppliers; she also determines job specs, raises quotations and supervises work on site.

“I love to refurbish old buildings, and the challenge of every day being different,” she says. “My grandfather, who was my role model, never tried to put me in a ‘box’ just because I was a girl. I worked alongside him, fixing cars, fixing buildings. He shaped me into the person I am.”

As a building maintenance and construction business, KWT is the perfect fit for Mthembu’s skills set – and it was her husband who steered her in this direction. “Before I met him, I worked purely to earn money, which led to frustration,” she says. “His passion for his business was inspiring. I wanted to work with him to step out of my comfort zone. He taught me everything, and exposed me to a challenging, exciting profession.”

Her biggest challenge is time management. “As a woman in this industry, I’m tempted to second-guess myself,” she says. “But if you want a career in property, you have to back yourself and be agile. Be honest with your customers and, above all, stay compliant. People overlook compliance, but it’s a safeguard. I want KWT to form lasting partnerships with industry leaders, and I want to uplift my community by training future accredited professionals.” o

Dithorisho Engineering operates in the fields of electrical building services, mechanical HVAC services, and fire detection and evacuation systems. Refilwe Mashitisho’s career path was determined by a high-school teacher who placed her in a technical class full of boys. “I was one of only two girls in the class,” she says. “All my friends were in the commercial class, but I liked being different.

At home I loved fixing electrical things – bar heaters, plugs, kettles. I enjoyed technical work.”

As Director of her company, Mashitisho is its sole shareholder. Initially her work involved planning and site visits; now she oversees project managers, and focuses on marketing and maintaining relationships with clients. She’s also taken on students who have a theoretical foundation but lack work experience. “My biggest challenge is finding people who have the time and patience necessary to act as mentors and teach our student artisans the skills they need,” she says. “Because of my own struggles upon entering the working world, the rationale behind Dithorisho has always been to train artisans. I want to help in the same way that being part of the Property Point initiative is helping my business.

“Everyone I’ve ever met has contributed to where I am today. I learn from everyone I meet; everyone has knowledge I might not yet possess. I believe women entering the industry have to push themselves, and not let their imagination impose limits on their success. I’ve had to prove myself; today, people depend on me for their livelihood. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.

“My goal is to open the doors of the industry for as many student artisans as possible.” o

With 18 years of experience, Bonolo Gueye is the founder and CEO of MaiKae Property Consulting, a real estate advisory firm that specialises in tailored real estate solutions. Her property journey started in 2001 with JHI. “My interviewer asked why a psychology graduate would want to work in property,” she says. “My response was, ‘Because properties are occupied by people.’”

In addition to a degree in industrial and organisational psychology from Roosevelt University in the US, Gueye has completed various property-related courses, including Property Investment and Practice and Art and Science of Negotiation through Wits, a Property Education Programme through Courtwell Consulting, the SAPOA PDP through UCT and Finance for Non-Financial Managers through GIBS. “The property sector is people-centric,” she says.

“Clients can sometimes be challenging in that they don’t understand the nuanced differences between commercial and residential property, which means we spend a lot of time and resources navigating various dynamics and approaches with clients. But no two property transactions are the same, which I love.”

She believes the property sector needs transforming. “The industry is tough and maledominated, but women can adapt their nurturing capabilities into successful strategies,” she says. “There is female representation in property management and the advisory space, but not enough in ownership, construction or professional roles. This needs to change: women need to be active in all spheres of the industry.

We need to find ways of making that happen.”o

P R O P E R T Y C O N S U LT I N G

+27 (0)72 478 1450 khensani@kwtprojects.co.za www.kwtprojects.co.za

+27 (0)12 023 0223 +27 (0)72 274 5989 refilwe@d-eng.co.za

“It’s important for young women to have a constant reminder that there are amazing female role models, and that they can do anything. Anything at all.”

Ellen DeGeneres

+27 (0)82 578 0357 info@maikae.co.za www.maikae.co.za 29

Taking charge of transformation Suzanne Ackerman-Berman was the guest speaker at the Azzaro-sponsored Women’s Breakfast, held in Cape Town during the 2019 SAPOA Convention & Property Exhibition First published on www.fin24.com

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about finding ways to answer the needs of our customers,” she said. “That is how my father (Pick n Pay founder Raymond Ackerman) built his legacy by listening and by not becoming detached or too snooty.

“My father is astute, and very aware of the world around him and of the customers. He passed on to me

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SAPOA women in property

uzanne Ackerman-Berman was the guest speaker at a women’s breakfast hosted by SAPOA in Cape Town and sponsored by Azzaro.

Ackerman-Berman shared some of her own views on leadership, saying that it was important to make a difference. “Leading a balanced life is all about compassion – and becoming an authentic leader is

the gift of being constantly aware of those around you, and of listening.

“Having a positive impact should be a crucial part of everyone’s professional life. It’s essential to create jobs and change the status quo of the community you are serving. This includes changing the status quo for persons with disabilities.”

SAPOA in property “You must learn to be still in the midst of activity, and to be vibrantlywomen alive in repose.�

Indira Gandhi, first female prime minister of India

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More diversity According to Ackerman-Berman, the retail sector in South Africa is still a very-male dominated environment – and it is lagging behind the rest of the property industry in this respect.

In her view, one of the ways in which property owners can continue to make a positive impact is by providing spaces for small entrepreneurs.

“We have the skills to make sure they succeed, but we need property sites at affordable rentals,” she said. “Do what you enjoy doing, and do it to the best of your ability. It is about teaching people about the respect they should have for one another, and about ethics. This is what business should be about – living your purpose.

“Be mindful of how you can make an impact, and how your actions are going to leave a mark.

Be mindful of the responsibility and the privilege of education. Find an intern to mentor. Each one of us has a choice – we cannot sit back and do nothing.”o Find the article at www.fin24.com/Economy/ sa- cannot-just-sit-back- and-wait-forramaphosa-to-bring-change-pick-n-payexec-20190620

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SAPOA women in property

REGISTER SAPOA PROPERTY

2018-2019

AVAILABLE ONLINE PROPERT

Y REVIEW

- LogoTre

atment.

pdf

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REGIS TER SAPO

A PR OP

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One of SAPOA’s services to its members, is the “Dissemination of Information.”

SAPOA is pleased to inform you that the 2018-2019 REGISTER is now available.

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ERTY

2018-2

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As part of SAPOA’s effort in decreasing the carbon footprint, all of our publications will be available on the online platform.

This includes the 2018-2019 REGISTER. Note that we have added your companies web address as part of your contact details. This is an added-benefit.

Online business directories have immense benefits such as: ● Amplify Your Online Presence ● Improve Your Local Visibility ● Get Discovered More ● Use Word of Mouth ● Strengthen Your Business Reputation ● Increase Brand Awareness ● Boost Your SEO ● Show Up on Google To access the Register visit - https://bit.ly/31zl3i2

EACH YEAR WE ACCEPT a large number of listings and advertisements from professionals and s ervice providers across the entire spectrum of property activities. Don’t miss out on t his well-used, popular industry resource.

SAPOA aims to provide added value by offering the basic listings free of charge to all members.

In this respect, we hope that we are assisting you in your marketing endeavours to some extent.

We thank you for your support in previous years. In an effort to improve the look and ease of usage, we have redesigned the directory layout to a four-column grid a nd have made available certain entries that will stand out from the norm.

For advertising opportunities and rates contact Pieter Schoeman t: +27 (0) 21 856 1276 c: +27 (0) 82 790 6909 e: pieter@mpdps.com