You don’t need to be a black South African to join the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners (SAIBPP). All you need is to have a direct vested interest in seeing the transformation of the real estate sector implemented successfully and want to be in an engaged community of stakeholders who influence industry regulations, advance training and development, and empower entrepreneurs in real estate.
In many ways, the SAIBPP is about synergies, so much so that its B2B online platform, SAIBPP Connect, is one of its most popular offerings, where its 2 500-plus members connect directly with one another, share business opportunities, and collaborate. “This platform also addresses one of the greatest challenges in the industry, which is access,” says Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, the CEO of the SAIBPP.
“Access in this particular instance relates to the market and customers, to procurement decision-makers and most importantly, information about where and how to tap into opportunities. This can be as simple as engaging with our existing members, students and business leaders to voicing and addressing policy concerns in the industry, which is where the SAIBPP plays a major role.”
She’s not exaggerating. To date, since its formation in 1996, specifically, to address the under-representation at the time of black people in the property sector, SAIBPP has led the formation of the Property Sector Charter. It was the only industry body invited to make representations in parliament on the Amendment of Section 25. It has drafted and inputted on the National Department of Public Works Property Management Empowerment Policy and the Property Practitioners Transformation Regulations that have now been implemented under the Property Practitioners Act. SAIBPP has also delivered, in partnership with the University of Cape Town, the Property Entrepreneurship Programme that has graduated and empowered 55 real estate entrepreneurs and also disbursed some R8-million in bursary funding for black youth pursuing a property or property-related course.
“Supporting entrepreneurship and development of black-owned business is one of our key pillars, and includes, but is not limited to the youth. There may be a lot of funding channelled towards enterprise and supplier development, even training, yet this often doesn’t translate into sustainable growth and development of businesses or individuals in the sector. What we want to see is a greater alignment with what property businesses actually need with the type and quantum of support being offered to them,” says Ramokgopa.
This applies equally, and more so to smaller businesses, she says, that are often overlooked due not to just their size but also their financial capabilities. So concerning is this, that SAIBPP also intends to launch its Enterprise Development and Market Access Programme this year. “This will specifically expose our members to business opportunities and create a platform for procuring companies to access a pipeline of credible market-ready companies,” explains Ramokgopa.
Women, in particular, are also targeted for procurement, especially given that this gender accounted for the highest proportion of residential sales in 2020/21. “There’s a growing interest in property ownership amongst this demographic, and this presents opportunities for women to take the lead, either as property practitioners, educators, bond originators, inspectors, rental agents and so on, enough to service this growing market.
“Affordable housing is yet another growing sub-asset class that has many opportunities either in the development, management, rental and finance arm. Similarly, with technology, we can simplify and reimagine how things can be done better. I personally would like to see more women leading in developing such tech solutions for the industry. Opportunities really are just an entity or individuals having a problem requiring a solution. For those with a growth and/or solution-orientated mindset, the market remains open to possibility.”
Another aspect SAIBPP brings to the table is its hosting of a number of annual events, including its well-attended Annual Convention, masterclasses and webinars, “each aimed at developing our members in different ways,” says Ramokgopa. The smaller activities are ideal for networking and exchanging insights with fellow industry practitioners.
There is also networking value for SAIBPP members to gain through SAIBPP’s own membership to organisations like the Property Sector Charter Council, the Black Business Council, the National Property Practitioners Council, and the Western Cape Property Development Forum.
“It is these valued partnerships and our membership base that have assisted us to craft policy and design programmes that have benefit for the industry at large,” confirms Ramokgopa. “Today, while SAIBPP continues to support black real estate professionals and businesses, it's also about building an environment through support initiatives that result in sustainable transformation & long-term impact.”