Townships: Europeans cash in where locals fear to tread

Ceremonies to hand over title deeds are fairly common in South Africa.

- Antoinette Slabbert

But while it is a definite step forward towards financial inclusion, do township homeowners really gain anything more than a piece of paper?

This is the question Jonathan Fisher grappled with more than seven years ago.

It is also this question that laid the groundwork for Bitprop, a fast-growing company that develops township rental properties in partnership with the landowner and empowers them to become entrepreneurs in their own right.

This is done with capital from European investors whose long-term views are rewarded with a 15% yield.

Fisher was part of a panel discussion last week at the annual convention of the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) at Sun City.

He said Bitprop partners with a township homeowner to build a few - typically four to six - rental units in his backyard. For this purpose, it leases the land from the homeowner.

It funds and manages the design and construction, using local township contractors, and deals with all compliance issues.