The African Real Estate & Infrastructure Summit (AREI) has announced that leading women in the real estate development have been selected as speakers for this years’ event that will hold between 11 and 12 October, 2018 at Sandton, South Africa. The agenda of the summit will focus on various built development to improve the future African city.
The Programme Director, Catherine Brassell, disclosed that about 300 property professionals are expected to attend the award-winning real estate event. “Following two successful editions, we have another insightful, strategic conference programme this year with some of the leading experts within the commercial, industrial and residential real estate sectors, many of whom are women.”
The Associate Director, Construction Project Management at Turner & Townsend and speaker at the summit, Ms Noluthando Molao, said: “Women should be respected and celebrated throughout the year and Women’s Month is a step in the right direction.” She is also the winner of several awards for outstanding women in construction and her most recent successfully completed project is the ORTIA Platform Extension Project for the Gautrain Management Agency.
Ms Molao added that “Science, Technology and Engineering and Mathematics are male-dominated careers. As a young person in this industry, you have to learn to be technically-competent and work extra hard in order to earn the respect of your peers. I’m very grateful to my organisation that has global leaders that have mentored and moulded me to be technically-competent. Being a tough industry, you cannot wait to be given; you have to be pro-active, work hard like everyone else. Innovation is driven by diversity. Within my organisation, diversity is strongly encouraged because different cultural backgrounds bring different spices to finding solutions so diversity is encouraged because you find better solutions.”
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA), Ms Dorah Modise commented that: “Women are beginning to take leadership roles in this space, we are still significantly male dominated but more and more women professionals are entering the green building space.”
Ms Modise will deliver a keynote address entitled “Green Building Trends: The True Value of Building Sustainably – Adopting sustainability practices in the built environment to enjoy tangible ROI gains.”
“I will focus a lot on recent studies on costs and trends of green buildings as well as benefits across different investment indicators. A number of South African and international examples will be used to demonstrate real returns as a result of adoption of sustainable solutions.”
She added further that: “the GBCSA launched a net-zero certification programme and are looking at net zero carbon, waste, water and ecology buildings and precincts to better combat climate change, enhance efficiencies and contribute to national development objectives. We are now on approximately 400 certifications since inception and we are gaining traction in certifications and training across the African continent.”
“The misconception that green building is costly still needs to be fully laid to rest. There might be a marginal additional cost to upfront capital but the long term operating costs of green buildings far outweigh the initial capital. Besides, with maturity of green technology and solutions this capital cost if coming down at an accelerated rate.”
Another speaker at the summit and Chief Executive Officer of the Gauteng Industrial Development Zone, Ms Seipati Mangadi, will speak on “Stimulating Struggling Economies: Expansion and development of the country’s industrial development zones: What are the opportunities?”
“The IDZ initiative will go a long way in attracting investment and contributing to lowering unemployment,” according to Ms Mangadi, “however, it should not be seen in separation to other endeavours to make South Africa an attractive destination in which to invest.”
She continues: “success lies in working in close cooperation with all stakeholders tasked with marketing South Africa’s investment opportunities. At any given time, there are delegations visiting the globe in efforts to attract investment. However, there could be more cooperation, comparing notes, sharing ideas and ensuring that there is synergy. South Africa needs to sell itself as one investment destination as opposed to competing provinces and SEZs. The launch of Invest SA as a one stop shop is aimed at addressing the current challenges.”
