Cheaper office space for SME's

There is a growing trend of businesses opting to move away from office parks into residential areas.   This may seem unconventional, but there are certain financial benefits for SME’s to make this move.

“With the by-laws considered, yes, buying or renting office space in a residential area makes financial sense”, says Attie Anderson, Head of FNB Commercial Property Finance.

Anderson takes a look at some key considerations that a business has to take into account when deciding to buy or rent office space in a residential area.

What must one consider in terms of where to buy?

The biggest consideration is access to the property.  Are the access and exit points adequate for the expected visitors to the premises? Is the site in close proximity to major routes? How will peak hour traffic affect access to the premises?

What are the stumbling blocks with owning commercial property in a residential space?

Residential areas are prone to traffic stacking during peak times, especially close to schools and residents may complain about the rate of activity.  In residential areas, sufficient parking space may also be limited.

What are the legislative considerations?

One needs to ensure that the zoning of the property caters for the specific business to be operated thereon.   The zoning of the property attaches to the property itself, and not to the owner thereof. In some cases you may require special permission from the local authority (“consent use”). Consent use is normally granted to the owner of the property, with certain strict conditions to be adhered to. This consent use may not be transferred to subsequent owners (consent use therefore attaches to the owner, not the property).

How are rates and taxes calculated?

Rates are calculated in accordance with the rates policy of the Council in which jurisdiction the property is situated.  Properties with business zoning are calculated at a higher tariff than residential properties.  The valuation of the property is normally multiplied by the tariff and divided by 12 to obtain the monthly rates applicable to that property.  The valuation of the property will normally differ from area to area.

Is it good to rent or own this type of property?

It is always better to own property in a good area as it will appreciate in value and as you grow it might be an asset that you will either rent out or sell at a reasonable profit.

What types of businesses are best suited for residential areas?

A look at the sector suggests that professionals such as doctors, dentists, accountants and real estate agents seem to move more to residential areas.  Other industries that seem to benefit are beauty salons, printing franchises and smaller service providers such as plumbers and electricians.

“The decision to go into a residential area must be one that looks at the long term strategy of the business and its growth prospects, but on the whole, it is clear that there is merit in exploring office space in a residential area” concludes Anderson. 

The Outlook for Africa 2014

Last week I was invited to attend the Africa Frontiers Forum which was all about
'The Outlook for Africa 2014.'

(Professor Foster-Pedley and Dr Davies in discussion)

It was a very interesting Forum indeed with many guests eager for knowledge.
You can find some interesting Tweets all about the event on #AFF

The event was hosted by Dr Martyn Davies from Frontier Advisory.

He gave us some interesting points to consider:

• How do we deal with structural unemployment?
• Ghana is good at diversification of economy.
• Is Africa the next Asia?
• Who are the first-movers?  

Next up was Professor Jonathan Foster-Pedley (Henley Business School - Africa)

He too had some interesting items to share with us:

• Create a strategic plan for your lives
• The purpose of business is to develop value
• Managers analyse the mess, they ask how can we fix it?  They then develop a plan and adjust accordingly.  They catch mistakes before they get big.
• We need better managers for SA
• A business plan should be sound and round.
• He reminded us that Google was still in Beta for 10-15 years even when it was worth a billion.

Next we had some interesting panel discussions around Africa.

The first panel was moderated by Hannah Edinger (Frontier Advisory) and the panel featured Peter Draper (SAIIA), Neville Matjie (TIKZN), Colin Grieve (AfrAsia Bank, South Africa) and Dr Clive Coetzee (KZN Provincial Treasury)

Among some of the key take-aways from this panel were:

• Credit is expensive in Africa
• Africa is an opportunity
• 50% of the World's Arable Land is in Africa
• Look to invest in neighbouring countries like Botswana, Swaziland and Namibia.

Next we had an interesting discussion with Dr Martyn Davies and Saxen van Coller (Dube TradePort)

Dr Davies informed us of the African Hubs:

• Johannesburg
• Nairobi
• Paris
• London
• Dubai

Can you spot the two that don't belong?

Ms van Coller then told us about the Dube TradePort and the development of the Aerotropolis around Dube TradePort.

On a question as to what she thought about British Airways landing an A380 at King Shaka Airport she replied, 'We are on the radar.'  

Next we had a look at the Banking and Finance Outlook for 2014.

Hannah Edinger moderated and was joined by Cas Coovadia (Banking Association of SA) and Yolande van Wyk (eWallet Solutions FNB)

(Hannah Edinger, Cas Coovadia, Yolande van Wyk) 

Some of the key points included:

• Banks need distribution in Africa
• Banks need to change the way they operate in Africa
• Disruptive Technology is geared for Africa

The event was wrapped up with a discussion by Dr Davies and Professor Foster-Pedley.

Dr Davies showed us some of the entrepreneurs that had become successful in Africa.

Among them were:

• Cecil John Rhodes
• Koos Bekker - Naspers
• Whitey Basson - Shoprite Checkers
• Aliko Dangote - Dangote Group

In conclusion Africa is truly an inspiring place and you can become very successful in Africa.

As was said in the Forum - Africa is an opportunity.

Upcoming Africa Frontiers Forum:

African Cities as Emerging Hubs and Drivers of Innovation and Growth

Date: Wed 19th Feb 2014

Where: IDC, 82 Grayston Drive, Sandton

web: www.frontieradvisory.com

email: africafrontiersforum@frontieradvisory.com 

Twitter: @FrontierSA and @MartynDavies888

Facebook: Frontier Advisory 

Article and Images by +Fred Felton 

FNB's eWallet shows true impact of Africa and Tech News

The FNB eWallet and Africa

FNB’s eWallet is showing strong growth in its African operations with a 119% year-on-year increase in the last financial year. It has also maintained its growth trajectory in South Africa with the total number of eWallets in all countries reaching 2.5 million, an 84% increase on the previous financial year. 

“The success of eWallet in South Africa as well as our African operations has proven that there is a pervasive need to send money easily and instantly through a network agnostic mobile money solution,” says Yolande van Wyk, CEO of eWallet Solutions at FNB. “Over the last financial year alone, over R3.2 billion has been sent into eWallets across countries in which the service has been launched. These countries include South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and Zambia.”

Outside of South Africa two countries in particular have shown very high customer acceptance and take-up. Both Namibia and Botswana’s growth has exceeded expectations with approximately 17% of citizens in Botswana and, in less than a year, over 5% of the population in Namibia receiving money into an eWallet.

“The growth of eWallet in the African subsidiaries has been a lesson in how local conditions effect how people adopt and use a service. We have noticed that Botswana and Namibia’s low population density contributes to the take-up. With a population density of less than four people per square kilometer in both these countries, there is clearly a need to send money across a distance, and eWallet has fulfilled this need,” says van Wyk.

In South Africa there are no discernible corridors as eWallet users tend to send money within a region or province, with Gauteng being the predominant province from which people are sending and receiving money. In Namibia four of these dominant regions have been identified, namely the Khomas, Oshana, Erongo and Otjozondjupa Region. In Botswana, sends mostly originate from the South East Region of Botswana, home to the country’s capital Gaborone.

“Outside of Namibia and Botswana we are still building the eWallet business. Some of our countries such as Zambia and Lesotho are relatively young, and we believe that eWallet will support the growth of the bank in those countries. Also with the expansion of our ATM network, as well as new technologies such as the Slimline* ATMs, we have the potential to grow the eWallet business even further across all countries,” concludes van Wyk.

Interesting Notes:

According to the Mobility 2012 report – World Wide Worx, 51% of the mobile money users in South Africa were FNB eWallet users.

Mobile money involves the use of a cellphone to transfer funds between people and bank accounts, to deposit or withdraw money, to pay bills or to buy services such as airtime and electricity.

(Source - FNB) 

BlackBerry 9720 Smartphone in blue now Available in South Africa

The super social BlackBerry® 9720 smartphone in blue is now available to customers in South Africa.*

Designed for a premium look in a striking shade of blue and packed with all of your favourite social apps, the BlackBerry 9720 smartphone is a stylish upgrade for anyone who wants to take their social conversations to the next level.

The BlackBerry 9720 smartphone features a spacious BlackBerry® Keyboard with distinct keys for optimal typing, a 2.8” touchscreen and trackpad for easy navigation. It also offers generous battery life, and numerous enhancements including:

• Blackberry 7 OS
• BBM
• FM Radio

For more information about the BlackBerry 9720, visit: http://za.blackberry.com/smartphones/blackberry-9720.

(Source - Blackberry) 

Samsung Showcases First Ever Digital Village

At a recent event in South Africa, Samsung showcased their first ever Digital Village.

Solutions that use renewable and environmentally friendly resources (solar) to improve the lives of Africa's inhabitants. 

The Village includes:

• Solar Powered Internet Schools
• Solar Power Generator
• Solar Power Health Centre
• Telemedical centre
• LED lighting

For info vist www.samsung.com 

(Source - Samsung) 

Tech News Around South Africa

The New Blackberry 9720 Smartphone Launches in South Africa

BlackBerry today introduced the new super social BlackBerry 9720 smartphone in South Africa. The new BlackBerry 9720 smartphone is now available from Vodacom, and is expected to be available from other authorized carriers and retailers in South Africa in the first week of September.

Loaded with Blackberry 7.1 OS, BBM, FM Radio and available with BIS.

For more details contact your network provider. 

(Source - Blackberry) 

SEACOM supports innovation centers in Kenya 

SEACOM, the Pan-Africa ICT enabler has given 100 mbps of internet connectivity to 4 innovation centers in Kenya to enhance their capacity to generate local content for a global audience. The Centers - iHub, m:Lab, naiLab and 88mph - will now benefit from super-fast internet speeds to launch their applications on the internet.

For more info visit:  www.seacom.mu 

(Source - SEACOM)

FNB adds the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini at R209 p.m. to its smart device family

More details here: 

https://www.fnb.co.za/promotions/smartphoneTabletOffer/Smartphone-Tablet-Offer.html

(Source - FNB) 

FNB has sold more than 175 000 smart devices

FNB tops 175 000 smart devices and frees-up customer choice

6 August 2013 – As the market for tablets and smartphones begins to mature, FNB has noted that customers are placing equal focus on the latest technology and lowest cost of use. Access to affordable data has become a strong driver in the market.

“Since being the first to launch the innovative Smartphone and Tablet offer in October 2011, FNB has sold more than 175 000 devices.  We have now added more options for clients - enabling clients to choose a cost-effective package (consisting of top end devices and FREE value adds), most suited to customers’ needs” says Kartik Mistry, Head of Smart Devices at FNB's Core Banking Solutions.

“Smart devices are now an integral part of our daily lives; customers want the latest gadgets but don’t want a dent in their pocket. The next logical step is to give clients the freedom to choose packages best suited to their lifestyles” says Mistry.

Customers who switch to FNB can choose from a wide range of already discounted smartphones, tablets or laptops and then select a package, which offers FREE deals on airtime or data:

Option 1 ‘Voice Rebate’	200 Minutes, 200 SMS, 200 MB of 3G data per month x 12 months
Option 2 ‘Data Rebate’	20GB  of 3G data per month x 12 months
Option 3 ‘Uncapped ADSL Rebate’	Uncapped ADSL for 6 months (to the maximum value of R399 p.m.) Thereafter ADSL data is available at a discounted rate based on the client’s eBucks reward tier.

Existing customers will also see voice and data benefits flowing from their eBucks rewards tier/level – the higher the tier or level, the better the benefit.

Existing FNB Personal Cheque Account clients already get access to uncapped ADSL data and existing clients who take up a smart device can get access to 3G data (up to 500MB).  Existing clients can also receive a rebate on 200 minutes talk-time. The rebate is based on their eBucks rewards tier/level on the eBucks Reward Programme.

This is yet another way FNB is enabling clients to afford smart technology and to bank digitally on the award winning FNB Banking App.

The offer is available by SMSing "Deal" to 31138 or by ordering via fnb.co.za and expires on 30 September 2013. Standard network rates, terms and conditions apply.  Rebates may change month to month depending on movement between eBucks reward tiers/levels.

(Source - FNB)