5th Annual Africa Affordable Student accommodation summit 2023-Southern Africa Edition to be hosted on the 30th and 31st March 2023 at the Southern Sun-Cape Sun, Cape Town, South Africa.
The 2023 summit has attracted over 40 expert and specialist speakers and panelists, industry players, universities and other key stakeholders- and will be hosted as a fully hybrid event with both physical and virtual attendance options for delegates and speakers.
South Africa alone currently faces a shortage of approximately 500 000 beds at universities and TVET colleges countrywide and the shortage is projected to reach 750 000 beds by 2025 at the current annual enrolment rates. The lack of affordable student housing negatively impacts students’ welfare, safety and security, academic performance, and the overall equitable access to quality education- which ultimately impacts their overall access to career opportunities and personal development.
The objective of the summit is to bring together all key stakeholders to explore solutions, strategies and approaches to address and find solutions to the affordable student housing demand-supply gaps across South Africa and the continent.
The summits also endeavour to engage key stakeholders in the higher education, building and construction and financial sector to produce strategies to accelerate the development and provision of affordable student housing and to improve the welfare, safety and security of students and to provide students with affordable and enabling environments conducive for learning, academic excellence and personal development.
The summit which has been hosted successfully for the last five years is part of the Africa series of summits hosted in Southern, East and West/North Africa.
Background and opportunities for key stakeholders
As a student housing and accommodation stakeholder, you would be keen to learn all the latest trends, developments, insights and best practices (local and international) in the student housing and accommodation sector. This is an official invitation to attend, present, speak, exhibit, launch or showcase your products and services, meet universities and TVET colleges and private student housing procurement representatives, explore business and investment opportunities, or find out how to secure funding for expansion.
Further find out all the requirements for supplying and servicing student housing from universities, financiers, and government -and even meet potential partners for your business. If these are part of your business objectives then we would like to invite you and your colleagues to attend, speak, exhibit, sponsor or partner in one way or another at Africa’s largest student housing summit during The 5th ANNUAL AFRICA AFFORDABLE PURPOSE-BUILT STUDENT ACCOMMODATION SUMMIT-Southern Africa 2023 FORUM to be held on the 30th & 31st March 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The summit in its 5th year and hosted in Southern, East and West Africa is the single largest event on the African continent focusing on affordable purpose-built student housing and accommodation . Hosted previously in South Africa for the last five years, the 5th continental showpiece will be hosted in Cape Town and also in Kenya and Nigeria for the East and West Africa regions respectively.
Following the successes of the Inaugural Affordable Student Housing Summit in 2019 (Johannesburg), 2nd Annual Summit in 2020 (Johannesburg) and the 3rd Annual summit 2021 hosted at the Sun city Resort in the Northwest province, South Africa and the 4th Annual Summit hosted at the Hilton Hotel, Sandton, South Africa- together with key stakeholders, developers, contractors, Investors, Financiers and Universities, Africa Insights and its industry partners will stage yet another successful Africa Affordable Purpose Built Student Accommodation Summit 2023 in the City of Cape Town, South Africa.
Estimated Current Shortages
Universities across South Africa and the region do not have sufficient and purpose-built student accommodation with almost half of the enrolled students unable to secure on-campus accommodation. The current estimated shortage in South Africa alone is exceed 500 000 beds at Universities, TVETs and other colleges across the country with demand expected to increase to around 750 000 by 2025 according to some published reports.
This worrisome state of affairs given the significance of appropriate accommodation to the overall welfare and wellbeing of students; as well as the impact it has on overall performance of students has forced students to live in deplorable conditions. Studies conducted in several countries have shown how lack of proper accommodation negatively impacts students’ performances and overall access to opportunities in future . And although purpose-built Student Accommodation is one of the fastest growing asset classes in the broader real estate sector; and in addition to good returns on investment fueled by the ever-increasing demand for student housing across the continent, supply shortages are still eminent.
The Covid19 Pandemic
Covid19 has had a negative impact across sectors, and despite the student housing sector showing great resilience and many pundits indicating the sector to be poised to rebound positively in the coming months, there is need for concerted efforts from both public and private sector to accelerate the development and provision of affordable student housing. There is need to incorporate affordable student housing and even social housing in municipal / city/ town planning which in return calls for increased demand for bulk infrastructure to support these demographic realities. This is also a great investment opportunity for Private sector, impact investors, DFIs alongside government to develop collaborative approaches to mitigate the crisis.
The Summit will bring together Universities, Financiers, Contractors, Architects and Property development firms and other built-environment and financial services intermediaries to explore solutions to financing and developing affordable purpose-built student accommodation in East Africa
Business Case- Student Accommodation
Student Housing is one of the fastest growing and resilient sub-sectors in the larger real estate Industry globally and on the continent with good and stable returns buoyed by the ever increasing student enrolments at institution of higher learning. The sector offers an attractive investment opportunity for investors with both financial and social impact returns.
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