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Attacq & Property Point: 8 SMEs graduate in celebration

Property Point Attacq Graduation Celebration
From left to right: Morné Wilken, CEO of Attacq, Carien Storm, Development Manager at Attacq, Sibongile Shikwambana head of Sandwind Coatings - top performer of Growthpoint’s Property Point enterprise development programme - Mzolisi Diliza, Chairman of Growthpoint’s social, ethics and transformation board committee and Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point and Corporate Social Responsibly at Growthpoint.

Invest, develop, grow – this is precisely what leading South African capital growth company in the real estate sector, Attacq Limited, has done with eight small businesses. These flourishing small firms have graduated from the rigorous enterprise and supplier development programme offered by Property Point, a Growthpoint Initiative, which was tailored to the specific needs of Attacq for this graduating class.

The companies, which all offer skills and services for the property industry, are: Kapcor Construction headed by Caroll Masevhe, Invelaphi Engineering headed by Frans Mutola and Gilbert Ovana, Kopano Ke Lesedi headed by Linah Mogale, Mavuko-Ndivho Trading headed by Ndivhuwo Lefosa, Sandwind Coatings headed by Sibongile Shikwambana, INC Projects headed by Sipho Mbatha, Oakantswe Construction Projects headed by Tebogo Moloi, and Zehlile Engineering and Projects (HVAC) headed by Zenzele Sibanda.

Their success was celebrated at a graduation ceremony held in Waterfall Estate where Morné Wilken, CEO of Attacq, congratulated the companies on graduating from the intense Property Point programme and commended the entrepreneurs on their significant achievements.

He pointed out that Attacq, as a pioneering company, recognizes the courage it takes to start your own business.

Wilken commented: “We take pride in partnering with entrepreneurs on their journey towards providing sustainable quality services to the property industry as part of the overall business supply chain. It is important for Attacq to support the South African small business dream and, by supporting SMEs in the property industry, grow the industry and introduce new players to the field. In time, they will play a significant role in the transformation of the South African real estate sector. These entrepreneurs hold the keys to meaningful job creation, value addition and unlocking benefits for our entire society.”

The eight Attacq Property Point incubation companies generated R57,2 million in total revenue, reported a median annual revenue growth rate of 35.8%, were awarded R30 million in contract value after being actively involved in the programme and created 65 full-time jobs.

This adds to the massive impact Property Point has already had in transforming the property sector.

Founded in 2008, Property Point, a Growthpoint initiative, is an award-winning enterprise and supplier development programme. To date, 114 SMEs have participated in Property Point’s two-year incubation programme. Provided for entrepreneurs operating within South Africa’s property sector, Property Point arms entrepreneurs with the skills, coaching and personal development they need to grow their businesses.

To date, Property Point has generated over R555 million in procurement opportunities for its SMEs. Beneficiary companies are reporting a 76% average annual growth rate in turnover. The 114 Property Point beneficiary companies have created 1,327 jobs, so far.

What is really exciting about these impacts is that they have been achieved by Growthpoint opening its Property Point initiative to the entire sector, encouraging property companies to set aside their rivalries and collaborate to achieve the same end-goal of transformation of the property industry.

“With collaboration we can have the biggest impact in the shortest time possible,” agrees Wilken. “We congratulate Growthpoint as founding sponsor of the Property Point initiative. Attacq is proud to be part of this enterprise and supplier development programme that makes a significant contribution towards the transformation and empowerment of the South African property sector.”

Among the most appealing points of the programme for Attacq is that Property Point supports critical connections between small businesses and key industry players to give them access to a business pipeline for future growth.

“Having a steady business pipeline is not only critical when one starts, but also remains a business’s lifeblood even for large established businesses like Attacq,” said Wilken.

Shawn Theunissen, head of Property Point and Corporate Social Responsibly at Growthpoint noted that Property Point’s goals go beyond growing small businesses to also creating an environment that provides more opportunities for small business.

“Linking small businesses with opportunities is a priority for the programme”. “These linkages aren’t only through Growthpoint and Attacq, the objective is for these small businesses to be sustainable, and that means they need to be able to compete in the market place,” said Theunissen.

To do this, Property Point focuses on reducing the perception of risk associated with working with small and black-owned business by building skills, credibility and a track record, helping each programme participant build their reputation and relationships that support their bankability.

The eight graduating businesses have already proven their success and sustainability, growing their own reputations and that of South African small business.

Rewarding excellence, Attacq gave three outstanding graduates a boost for their businesses, based on evaluations carried out by a panel of judges including Attacq’s Transformation specialist Danny Vermeulen, head of facilities management at Attacq Jaco van Aswegen, Development Manager at Attacq, Carien Storm, and Property Point Operations Manager Michael Reyneke.

The winners are:

Top performer: Sandwind Coatings
Runner up: Invelaphi Engineering
Runner up: Zehlile Engineering & Projects (HVAC)
Job creation: Sandwind Coatings
Innovation: INC Projects
Property Point Ambassador: Zehlile Engineering & Projects (HVAC)

For its outstanding performance, Sandwind Coatings was awarded R70, 000 by Attacq for its business. Runners-up each won R25, 000 for their businesses.

But the real winner is the property industry, which stands to benefit from the services of these professional, experienced and innovative businesses, and the jobs they can create.

Keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony was Jo-Ann Strauss, the popular former Miss South Africa, media entrepreneur. Strauss shared her own entrepreneurship journey saying: “Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor, and I’ve always got my dancing shoes on.”

Strauss stressed that: “For South Africa to be a success, big business must invest and small business and we need to create a bigger pie instead of fighting for a piece of a smaller pie.”

She praised Property Point for its positive impacts and encouraged graduates to never stop learning. She also commended them for investing their most precious resource, their time, in Property Point to grow their businesses.

“The success of Property Point and its beneficiary companies is also the success of our growing base of partners, such as Growthpoint, The Business Place and Attacq,” noted Theunissen, who hopes to see even more partnerships between Property Point, big property companies and small businesses in future.