SAPOA’s Western Cape Chapter recently held its last networking opportunity for 2022 in partnership with Samsung Electronics and Boxwood Property Fund, where professionals gathered at SALT Food Market at The Box in Cape Town CBD.
“This is our first event with industry professionals. As a player in the HVAC space, we work closely with developers, architects, and the built environment so partnerships like these are important to us because they provide the opportunity to interact with key industry players whom we may not have previously had access to,” said Joseph Sekese, Samsung Sales Engineer who attended the event with his full team from Johannesburg (pictured below, far left). “Events like these are very important and they should happen more often.”
“The effects of COVID-19 reset the way the HVAC industry designs air cons and how the broader built environment utilises space – this is something that we need to unravel because we are still discovering life post-pandemic. Working from home, for example, has created a dynamic and changed the way in which people approach the use of buildings. We started seeing more mixed-use buildings which was not prevalent pre-COVID-19 with developers really utilizing their space. As product custodians, Samsung Electronics has presented post-Covid-19 innovations in the form of cutting-edge technology with more to come in the future”.
Rob Kane, CEO of Boxwood Property Fund and who serves on SAPOA’s WC Regional Council said that during 2022, there has been a great parallel between the offering in the commercial property market, particularly in the office sector: “We have seen people return to the office and our parking revenue is higher than 2019 – who would have believed that last year. People are coming back into the city and buildings that offer something different are attracting tenants. Boxwood Property Fund was fortunate to spend time last year upgrading our buildings which are attracting tenants at really good rentals. There is such a difference in our portfolio between what we have upgraded and what we haven’t.”
“We have learnt a lot about collaboration and if we can continue this, we will have a better industry. It was quite competitive before but now if we have problems, we talk to other landlords and we swop ideas which is why it is so important to be a part of an association like SAPOA as a commercial property owner. It is about functions like this, and it is not a surprise that every event that I have attended in the past few months has been oversubscribed. The value of SAPOA is training, education, and enabling the conversations – the essence of the city centre. It’s about getting business together in 2023“.
View our events calendar for SAPOA’s upcoming webinars, networking functions and educational offerings in 2023.
(Photography by Amy Green, Photography to Remember)
