Digital Innovation in
SA ’ s First Township Property Platform
BY JEAN BROWN
PROPERTY TECH
Real Estate
Twenty-four-year-old Fernando Antonio lives in Mandalay , Cape Town , and is the brain-child behind the Zakasi Property Group , a Township-based property platform that allows Township property buyers and sellers in Cape Town to connect . He describes himself as a “ Real Estate Tech Entrepreneur with a passion for entrepreneurship beyond the sheer mechanism of just running a business ”.
Antonio holds a Diploma in Business Management , a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Development ( from the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development , UCT ’ s Graduate School of Business ) and was recently exempted from his Real Estate qualifications ‒ the Further Education and Training Certificate [ FETC , NQF Level 4 ] and the National Certificate in Real Estate [ NQF Level 5 ]).
Entrepreneurial vision Antonio developed the Zakasi Property Group in Business School , for a group business project . He explains that the business concept came to him during an innovation lecture by Charles Maisle , the cofounder of Shanduka Black Umbrellas , a non-profit , enterprise development incubation organization that supports black-owned emerging businesses in South Africa .
“ We had to come up with business ideas that solved problems for Townships particularly , by reading through and identifying issues in a newspaper article . This is where I first encountered traditional and big property brands and portals ; I then researched the accessibility of Township properties , as well as the effectiveness of traditional ways of advertising and searching for properties in the Townships . This helped me conceptualise a solution for the issues around demand and supply of Township properties ;
the answer was to create a platform solely for an emerging , niche market in Townships .”
Antonio explains that he joined an Estate Agency in mid-2016 to gain exposure to the property industry . He initially prototyped his platform by creating a Facebook page to validate his assumptions ‒ would there be a business for it ? Online users soon began to contact and message him via the Facebook page , looking for Township properties .
“ The response was , and still is , amazing . This made me realize that a website was needed to grow the business . The website is now available and is currently under construction . Currently our biggest customer base includes : property developers , buy-tolet investors and individuals who are first time home buyers .”
Antonio has a vision to grow the platform to include other Townships within South Africa , such as Soweto in Johannesburg and Umlazi in Durban .
HOW TO INVEST IN A TOWNSHIP PROPERTY
Antonio advises interested property investors to combine buyto-let and buy-to-flip investment strategies .
“ First , buy to let to earn a monthly income - while the area is developing - until it reaches a point of growth , driven by developments and infrastructure , such as the building of malls , schools , housing developments and other amenities . This will influence the value of the property and cause it to appreciate . Then flip and sell the property to get a good return on your investment .”
RESOURCES
Zakasi Property Group , Shanduka Black Umbrellas
24 JUNE 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www . reimag . co . za