Housing

11 pct. of the average BOP household spending in South Africa is allocated to costs related to housing. In addition, large public housing, electricity, and water projects are being initiated in South Africa, which makes the overall housing market very big.

Inadequate housing for the poor is a major problem in South Africa, and 1.2 million households still live in informal settlements. Alexandra alone has an estimated 20,000 informal dwellings ("shacks"). In addition, access to water and electricity is insufficient in most BOP areas.

The government has initiated large housing projects to meet the immediate needs of the poor. As a result, more than 2.8 million houses have been built and distributed among the poor. However, the needs are still enormous and good solutions are scarce.

Visits to public and private housing projects in Alexandra revealed houses of very poor quality, despite the fact that they had recently been built.

It is apparent that there is a pressing need for proper design and management of building projects as well as supplying quality material for the building sector. These are areas were companies could develop viable BOP businesses.

Business opportunities

• Supplying building materials
• Energy solutions
• Water and sanitation systems
• Housing design and architecture