Daku Group of Companies

15/11/2021

Our Commander In Chief Xoliswa Daku recently had the excellent opportunity to connect with CEO talking about all things property, investments, leadership, and the choice to pursue entrepreneurship.

20 years later and Miss Daku is still as passionate, committed to growing teams, and an active catalyst for raising consciousness around empowering young women within the sector and those with aspirations to be active participants within the sector.

Follow us for the recipe inserts over the next couple weeks!

08/11/2021

- Daku Group of Companies and shrewd entrepreneur Xoliswa Daku Talks All things Property Development, Entrepreneurship and Leading through Covid19 with the incomparable founder of Heavy Chef Fred Roed

Read all about it here:

The CEO and founder of the Daku Group of Companies shares the intricacies of growing a property portfolio, explaining why it's important for entrepreneurs to invest in property.

05/11/2021

2.0


Over the last year and a half, technology has proven to be the critical tool for business growth and agility. Fundamentally tech has provided the industry with operations solutions that enable employees to engage in remote work opportunities and project management tools that do not require high-touch or in-person engagements.

It has also opened the window to level competitive playing fields amongst established brands and independent agencies. The real estate industry must be intentional and proactive around the technological integration and systemization of business processes.

The end-user and key stakeholders require more efficient and customer-centric ways of engaging services for an enhanced customer experience.

04/11/2021

Since the coming into effect of Covid-19, the property sector has encountered tremendous challenges around commercial retention, especially with office space rentals given the introduction of the "work from home" strategy. Employers in most of the sectors are leaning towards adjusting operations and functions. The rental collections are declining significantly due to declines in business cash flow maintenance and the income of businesses occupying the spaces.

There are many contributing factors to the challenges faced within the sector, and we will be unpacking the most visible trends. Be sure to follow our page for information and conversation, sparking dialogue on the world of property!

03/11/2021

Urban Regeneration - Revitalizing our Economy

Urban regeneration affords communities with jobs through economic activity. Local government investment in public utilities is the cornerstone in encouraging private sector investment for re-purposing previously underutilized or dilapidated buildings. The coming together of the public and private sectors enables value creation in areas that decreased due to prolonged neglect and historical inequalities.

Economic Revitalization: As a corrective measure, the renovating of existing buildings to stimulate commercial activity means that the occupants of the areas where these buildings are positioned are given opportunities to work or operate businesses and can sustain themselves as a result thereof.

Equally, new developments with public investment support enable new business opportunities, including designing and developing integrated spaces for leisure, access to basic amenities, and improved security.

Public Investment: The national government's urban renewal mandate introduced in 2001 by former president Thabo Mbeki sparked by the need to improve rural and township underdeveloped areas to empower communities with enterprising opportunities, dismantle urban exclusion and degeneration is still work in progress.

The opportunity presented by this program opens a window for the development of skills and capacity growth within areas earmarked for regeneration. An example of this would be converting underutilized factory buildings into training centers and shared working space for female-owned textile/beading networks in specific areas within the Eastern Cape region.

A fundamental objective within this process is centered around fast-tracking service delivery across government, stimulating the growth of small business enterprises to stimulate private sector investment and participation.

Stimulation of private development: Economic viability is an undeniable prerequisite for any developer taking up disposed land to re-configure its usage and employ commercially driven strategies on how the development will sustain itself.

Buyer appetite needs the buy-in and support of local governments from a funding perspective and addressing key PEST challenges a particular location may have. Equally, the facilitation of key stakeholders, including the residents living within designated areas. The empowerment of local communities is essential to the success of any development project, thus making it crucial to ensure that both private and public stakeholders have alignment in the design of project rollout and development activities.

Encouraging collaborative projects: Meeting the objectives of urban renewal means collective effort, shared resources, the development of progressive and economically viable strategies to deliver on the mandate to serve the current demand within the South African market. While inroads have been made to realize this, there is room to continue engaging the sector for innovative means to address spatial development challenges.

26/10/2021

TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!

Our teams got to spend time building together and connecting with one another through interactive play this passed Friday!

Having highly skilled individuals with different disciplines is critical to the success of our organization and the servicing of our clients is reliant on seamless communication internally.

This is why it is a Daku value to continually pursue ways in which we can engage each other, connect and unpack synergies that fuel a solid internal flow.

Our team absolutely embraced the activities and it was a splendid site to see!

12/10/2021

It is important for us to always be participating in industry conversations that move us forward,interrogate the needs of our stakeholders and equally share valuable insights around the critical changes happening within the property development space.

Last week we spent some time connecting with networking and engaging in dialogue centered around property trends in South Africa, consumer behavior and designing products that enable access,convenience,resource optimization all the while taking key consideration for pricing models that enable end-users to engage!

11/10/2021

Mixed-Use Housing – Integrated Developments Driving Access and Convenience

The concept of integrating residential and non-residential buildings that cater for different but interlinked uses is vastly becoming palatable to the South African consumer looking for access, convenience, and cosmopolitan lifestyle amenities.

Mixed-use development brings about a unique opportunity for consumers to live, work, and play at affordable rates, which encourages young professionals to start pursuing independence and afford them access to engage the corporate space efficiently.

The zoning type blends residential, commercial, institutional, and cultural spaces into one environment. Equally, it addresses consumer pain points around access, safety, security, and affordability. The model encourages sustainability and optimum profitability. Even amid economic decline, it can almost guarantee a healthy pivot at the core.

Mixed-use developments have gained popularity over the last couple of years, and people's preferences have evolved. Investors and developers are responding positively to the concept. The goal now is to integrate residential, health facilities, and recreational centers in one location.

Investing in Mixed-use development projects creates a walkable community that is good for the local economy and benefits residents, employees, and visitors to the neighborhood. With mixed-use opportunities on the rise, development professionals are capitalizing on the growing trend to cross-categorize the retail real estate and multi-family housing markets across demographics to create a sense of "place."

The benefits of these types of development extend to less reliance on vehicles, vitality, increase the consumer appetite to make use of public or private transport services, and provides significant benefits environmentally, socially, and economically.

The promotion of pedestrian travel affords residents to save considerably on commuting expenditure, thus further interacting with the lifestyle amenities in the space. The development style is indicative of a value every property developer should employ when developing property products, to always consider the most important stakeholder, the resident, and how the development will empower them and offer them peace of mind.

05/10/2021

In business we are here to offer solutions, relieve key stakeholder pain points and provide commercial regeneration. It is therefore imperative that we employ innovative ways of solution-creation.

In a community that is everchanging, agility matters!

04/10/2021

STUDENT ACCOMODATION RE-IMAGINED

South Africa is challenged with a shortage of accessible student accommodation. A key contributing factor is directly linked to the cost of the rental. The property sector must pursue innovative ways to build, design, and create sustainable pricing models.

Feasibility through innovative design is the antidote to overcoming our current obstacles with accessing affordable student residences. We must consider ways to improve build and access without watering down the quality of our developments, greywater systems, recycling, and the use of energy-efficient lighting contributes to addressing spending.

Technology and connectivity are also crucial for optimizing access to learning material, virtual attendance, and submissions, given the nature of resources required within communal spaces occupied by students. Covid19 presented academic institutions with finding resolutions to ensure the safety of their students and the adversity is being addressed through available technology.

Students require WiFi access with exceptional speed, streaming, and downloading capacity; thus, looking at strategic partnerships with tech businesses offering internet network services allows the industry to access marked-down service rates.

Equally, earmarking abandoned land strategically positioned within proximity to institutions of higher learning to refurbish and provide living and learning facilities may influence address a significant portion of the cost to develop these properties.

Multifunctional Spaces:
Designs must make critical consideration for the entire student living journey above and beyond just rooms. Students require more than just living spaces but need access to work cubicles, study rooms, workshops, or group workspaces to fulfill academic tasks. Shared entertainment and domestic areas such as lunch and dinner lounges, laundry rooms, and recreational spaces that encourage exercise, play, and mental health practices.

As property developers, we must consider our end-user and the experiential lifecycle to encounter while residing in spaces designed to empower them. Just like all other industries, we have the responsibility to advance our delivery further.

29/09/2021

28/09/2021

Our mandate will always be one that speaks to restoring the dignity of our people through affordable housing initiatives, creating recreational spaces to encourage mental health practices and revitalize our communities and building with absolute intent to influence growth in our economy.

There will never come a time where the stakeholder isn't top of mind.