Africa Rising, a Durban-based independent property development company, specialises in project development, project management and real estate sales. The company purchased properties worth R300 million from Tongaat Hulett Developments during 2015 and plan to roll out over R1,6 billion worth of developments in the Umhlanga Ridge area.
Andile Mnguni, a Development Executive for Tongaat Hulett Developments, says the company set out to work with companies and people who shared its vision for creating value for all stakeholders in an all-inclusive approach to growth and development. Africa Rising was the perfect candidate.
Africa Rising started as a fledgling development company in 2003. It has purchased a total of 12 pieces of land from Tongaat Hulett Developments. The properties added to the company’s portfolio this year include The Madison, The Marina, Park Avenue, Aria and Jefferson in the Umhlanga Town Centre and a commercial property at Sibaya.
Currently four of these are under development. The Madison, a mixed use development opposite the Gateway Hospital, comprises 97 apartments and 27 medical suites and is slated for completion by August 2016. It is already 90% sold.
Construction has started on Park Avenue apartments, scheduled for completion in November 2016; 85% of the units are already sold.
Aria, which will provide retirement apartments and Jefferson providing student accommodation, will launch this year.
Colin Kisten, chief executive of Africa Rising says that the company has already created at least 1 000 job opportunities in 2015, 25% being female.
The company focuses on skills development. It is currently running a mentorship programme for previously disadvantaged emerging entrepreneurs and developers.
It nurtures subcontractors and in 2015, black-owned Fikile Construction, was awarded a R225 million construction contract by Africa Rising.
Kisten moved into the property space in 1994 and began investing in and developing property in earnest in 2003. During the 2008 recession, he consolidated his interests and decided to focus just on KZN where he has the appropriate logistics systems in place.
Kisten’s business philosophy is ‘people before profit’. As a philanthropist, he created the Non-Profit Organisation, African Hope 20 years ago. The organisation assists street children, the aged and the handicapped and organises a wheel chair and blanket drive every year.
Going forward, Kisten says he intends growing his skills development programme within the next five years to help address the urgent problem of unemployment in the country and ultimately give back to the local community.
More information from Andile Mnguni, Tel:+27(0)315601900
