Cape Town Property Point is a ground-breaking, multi-faceted enterprise development initiative which sponsors and develops entrepreneurs and small businesses serving the property sector.

Property Point then supports these SMMEs through opportunities within Growthpoint Properties and its network service providers. Additional support is provided through ongoing interaction with property managers and procurement specialists within Growthpoint Properties to assist with tenders and proposals, once clients have completed their tailored programme. Candidates also have access to an excellent entrepreneurial network, by way of the association with The Business Place, which is a well established business support centre with branches across South Africa.

Initiated in May 2008 in Gauteng, Growthpoint’s Property Point has already assisted over 1,000 entrepreneurs and SMME’s with its programme of 55 different interventions. 200 direct jobs have been created through this initiative as well as a multitude of opportunities which have been generated by the programme’s interactions and training. Property Point has created 90 direct business linkages for SMMEs with Growthpoint Properties. Procurement business linkages from SMMEs have been achieved at some R13 million.

With the launch of Growthpoint’s Cape Town Property Point initiative, small Western Cape businesses will also have access to Property Point.

The launch of Cape Town Property Point coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010, the world’s largest celebration of entrepreneurship in which millions of people around the globe are participating with thousands of events in hundreds of countries, and Cape Town Entrepreneurship Week which aims to enable a dynamic, inclusive, city-wide entrepreneurial culture and environment to meet employment and up-skilling challenges.
 
Growthpoint Properties is a leading South African company strongly invested in Cape Town with its R5,7 billion property portfolio in the city representing some 20% of its over R30 billion total property assets. The company’s regional offices are located in its landmark property MontClare Place in Claremont. Other distinctive property assets which Growthpoint owns in the region include Constantia Village, Golden Acre, Longbeach Mall, Middestad Mall, the Investec Foreshore building, The District in Woodstock and 11 Adderley Street.

“Property Point ensures that we are not only invested in Cape Town’s properties, but also its people,” says Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties Limited. “There is a wealth of talent and passion in Cape Town and Property Point is designed to catalyse and convert this into thriving, sustainable businesses.”

“Ultimately, the objective of Property Point is to help develop SMMEs into fully independent companies which are able to compete successfully in a highly competitive market place,” notes Sasse.

The impact of the programme is far reaching. In addition to entrepreneurship development, Cape Town Property Point aims to uplift the community through business, grow job creation, provide tangible procurement opportunities for entrepreneurs and also impart important skills and competencies to the property sector as a whole.

“All too often, small businesses and entrepreneurs attempt to forge their way alone. Insufficient training, a lack of knowledge and little support all present sometimes insurmountable hurdles to sustainable success,” says Growthpoint Properties’ Shawn Theunissen who is responsible for overseeing Property Point. “Now, Cape Town entrepreneurs no longer have to struggle in isolation – Property Point is harnessing a wealth of industry wisdom to help them.”

An initial in take of 10 candidates has been confirmed to benefit from Cape Town Property Point’s first incubation programme spanning a wide range of property services disciplines from cleaning to construction and security to electrical services. “The property sector is an industry which offers a range of entrepreneurial opportunities,” explains Theunissen.

“Incubation serves to advance SMMEs and improves their competitiveness and sustainability, giving them a solid foundation in the marketplace. In turn, the sector benefits from additional expertise, skills and service. It creates a win-win situation,” explains Theunissen.
The programme leverages the knowledge and resources of Growthpoint through the groundbreaking entrepreneurial centre The Business Place and includes specifically designed mentorships.

Property Point enterprise development programme is part of Growthpoint’s Corporate Social Investment which also outlines targets for preferential procurement from black suppliers, the implementation of environmentally-conscious green building principles, and sustainable business practices.

Assisted by the success of Property Point, Growthpoint Properties was recently included in the JSE Socially Responsible Index - a first for a South African listed property company - based on its positive environmental, social and economic sustainability practices and corporate governance.
“We are proud to be launching Property Point in Cape Town and hope to continue the expansion of this important initiative into other areas of the country in the future,” says Theunissen.