The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) summit, which will be held in South Africa for the first time, will aim to engage role-players from across Africa’s built environment to discuss vital aspects of the continent’s economic growth and future success.

On Wednesday, the institution reported that it would hold its Global Summit 2015 in Johannesburg on March 25, marking the fourth time the summit would be held outside the UK – after China, India and Brazil.

RICS South Africa country manager TC Chetty said there was “no doubt” that Africa would benefit “enormously” from a larger pool of built environment professionals.

“For example, if across Africa, measurement standards can be implemented in conjunction with ethical standards – and can be effectively and independently regulated, we believe we can help create market conditions in which investors, clients and the public as a whole have high confidence, and in which growth is sustainable,” he explained.

Chetty pointed out that Africa’s built environment was undergoing unprecedented change, with rapid urbanisation and populations in key cities projected to grow some 60% above 2010 levels.

“Developments such as these [not only] bring increased opportunities for the commercial and residential property sectors, but also for professionals working throughout Africa. Our Africa summit will provide a platform for debate and discussion on important aspects of the continent’s property growth,” he advised.

Forecasts by the International Monetary Fund reflected that gross domestic product growth rates for some African countries were expected to exceed those of their developed counterparts.

Expectations were that Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia would achieve growth rates of between 5% and 7%.

According to financial firm EY’s ‘Africa by numbers 2013 to 2014’ report, African countries had experienced consistent and robust growth for over a decade. The size of the continent’s overall economy more than trebled since 2002 and the size of the sub-Saharan African economy grew well over three-and-half-times, despite half of the past decade having been marked by a deeply troubled global economy.

“Sub-Saharan Africa presents a huge area of opportunity where real estate and infrastructure investment needs to grow phenomenally to meet massive population needs. In many of Africa’s capital cities, improved levels of [foreign direct investment] and a growing middle class have led to notably increased demand for residential, business and retail property,” noted Chetty.

Growth in property markets across Africa was expected not only to fuel a need for massive infrastructure investment but also see a need for more professionals, skills and capacity to manage this growth. Naturally, while this presents a host of opportunities, Chetty said it also presents several challenges for various markets across the continent – particularly in the property sector.

THREE KEY MARKETS
“While RICS has had a presence in South Africa for some years, we are now in the process of expanding our operations, initially focusing on three key regional markets in sub-Saharan Africa – South Africa, Kenya and Ghana,” Chetty said.

He noted that the rationale was that South Africa would be a strategic gateway for RICS to grow its activities in Africa; Kenya was rapidly becoming a strategic location for organisations wanting to establish a regional base in East Africa, while Ghana was RICS’s choice for a regional hub in West Africa.

“Owing to the diversity of Africa’s markets, needs and challenges, ours is a strategic approach of cooperation and building partnerships with national bodies and stakeholders. As a public benefit, professional body with global reach, we are ideally placed to bring together stakeholders from around the world to share experiences and expertise, and to collaborate and learn. The summit will also highlight the role development professionals can play in key African markets as the built environment evolves and expands,” Chetty added.