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here is a growing call around the world for ethical, socially inclusive investing. Increasingly asset owners and asset managers are becoming more receptive to the understanding that they can affect social and environmental change through impact investing, whilst still delivering returns for investors.
In South Africa there is significant opportunity for impact investing to drive measurable change, and there is no more pressing need than that of addressing the legacy of the past such as the unequal distribution of property ownership amongst the people of South Africa as well as restrictive access to investment opportunities and capital.
Correcting the past, improving the future
The property sector is fundamental to correcting this injustice, however over 25 years since freedom and the vast majority of working South Africans continue to live in underprivileged areas, which are far from places of work. By being far from work millions of South Africans spend a significant proportion of their income on transport, resulting in families remaining locked in a cycle of poverty, as there is little opportunity to grow wealth in these circumstances.
We recognise that property offers unique prospects for achieving social change as it plays a significant role in people’s lives. Property is a basic need in that it provides shelter, property is required for the economy to grow in that it provides premises for commercial and industrial enterprises and it is an asset class that can create wealth for investors.
Breaking the poverty cycle
By affording more people access to affordable housing in good locations, with access to proper infrastructure such as water and sanitation, there is the real opportunity to break the poverty cycle. Further, by enabling ordinary South Africans to acquire their own property they are able to build wealth. There is also an opportunity to stimulate township economies through commercial property development and by enabling landowners in these areas to extend their accommodation to create income.
Transforming the investment landscape
Through our relationships with key private investors and property funds, Impact Plus has been offered unique opportunities to acquire premium and AAA-grade investments. This will enable us to achieve long-term and impactful transformation in the South African property sector. We will achieve this by transforming property ownership structures and by providing exposure to quality assets for our beneficiaries, whilst ensuring a return on investment for our investors and beneficiaries.