Building a future for youth in property development: free webinar

Chairperson of the Youth In Property Association, Sipho Mbadaliga speaks to Wasanga Mehana, in for CapeTalk and 702's Early Breakfast presenter Africa Melane.

Listen below:

Mbadaliga says that since its launch in 2017 Yipa has been working to include youth in South Africa's property sector.

He says they see this as a vital step in breaking the cycle of poverty so many young people find themselves in.

Mbadaliga says: "If I'm able to buy a property and pay it off, then I know that the next generation of people that are coming in... don't have to think about getting a lot of capital because probably by the time that they come in, the property is paid up and then it becomes a plug and play for them."

Besides ownership, the organisation also encourages youth participation in property development. The major obstacles to this being lack of access to finance and social capital in the form of trusted relationships with people in the building sector.

Mbadaliga says to help bridge these gaps, Yipa has been hosting job shadow programmes for young people in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

"They get to see on a day-to-day basis this is what an architect does, this is what a quantity surveyor does and that then exposes them to the property sector. I mean if you're a child from Khayelitsha and you've never seen an architect - that sparks something in your brain, that sparks a dream in you."

- Sipho Mbadaliga, Chairperson of the Youth In Property Association

He says the second thing that Yipa does is provide access to internships

And they cater for young professionals by providing networking opportunities.

"For example we're having an event with Old mutual Properties on the 26^th of June and the next day we're having an event with a housing development agency as well where young profressionals can come and network."

- Sipho Mbadaliga, Chairperson of the Youth In Property Association

Yipa will also be hosting a free webinar on Thursday, 19 June from 5pm to 7pm. Register on X @yipa_sa.

Scroll up to listen to the interview.