Franchising December 2023

Page 30

WORKSPACE SOL U T IONS

SiSebenza and WeWork South Africa are set to impact the African flexible workspace market by sharing knowledge, expertise and resources. By ANDREW ROBINSON, SiSebenza founder and executive director at WeWork South Africa

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iSebenza became the franchise owner of leading global flexible space provider WeWork in South Africa in March this year, purchasing the local operation – 100 per cent of the existing operations in South Africa – and becoming the franchise partner to establish a WeWork presence in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and Nigeria, and expand the South African footprint. The barriers to entry into Africa for international franchises, particularly in real estate, are formidable, so partnering with a local expert such as SiSebenza was invaluable for the WeWork brand, which benefitted from SiSebenza’s knowledge of local dynamics, cultural nuances and market needs, all essential to creating a locally relevant and sustainable operation for any business. For SiSebenza, aligning with the global flexible space provider and a dependable and innovative business model helped the company mitigate the risks associated with starting a business from scratch. However, in the flexi-office space, where it’s more than just space on offer, WeWork’s substantial investment in technology, design, community development and support, and productivity enhancement provided a scale that could not have been achieved independently. It’s been a matter of plugging in and benefitting from this wealth of resources.

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WHO IS THE MOST FLEXIBLE OF THEM ALL? As of 2022, the European Union had the greatest number of flexible workspaces worldwide, at 4 169, followed by Asia (4 137) and North America (3 792). Africa, with 679, occupied a distant fourth place followed by South America (626), Oceania (374) and Central America (116). Source: Statista

GLOBAL GROWTH South Africa is one of several WeWork Global franchisors, with Central America and the Caribbean being the latest, and other franchisors in India, Japan and China. The Indian business has just opened its 50th building in New Delhi, which is its first foray into that city, and it came just two months after opening three office spaces in Bengaluru. The co-working environment in India is booming, and we expect much of the same across Africa. While the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily impacted the shared office space market, the long-term outlook is more than promising.

HUGE GROWTH ANTICIPATED Serviced office providers such as WeWork currently equate to one per cent of the commercial real estate market in South Andrew Robinson Africa. With the South African commercial real estate market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.84 per cent, from R163.3-billion this year to R273.2-billion by 2028, the proportion of serviced flexi-office spaces can be expected to grow a massive four to six per cent over the same period. The African market currently sits at less than half a per cent, with growth prospects of two per cent in the same period. The timing couldn’t be better for WeWork in South Africa. The workplace revolution is here, and if employers want their teams back in the office, they have to start offering them something of value to travel to and something attractive that drives collaboration and creativity. Companies are developing robust social strategies to ensure that employees return to and thrive in the office. And the thinking that seems to be working best is to make going to work no different than going to an event. Going to the office is something that people must feel excited about – they must feel welcome and comfortable – and that’s what WeWork does so well.

PRE-COVID, FLEXIBLE OFFICE SPACE SAW A GLOBAL AVERAGE ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF 23 PER CENT, MAKING IT THE FASTEST-GROWING COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET SEGMENT.

Images: gorodenkoff/istockphoto.com, supplied

UNLOCKING POTENTIAL

Pre-COVID, flexible office space saw a global average annual growth rate of 23 per cent, making it the fastest-growing commercial real estate market segment. And now, as businesses increasingly acknowledge the benefits of flexible work arrangements and the cost savings associated with traditional office spaces, it’s expected that flexible space will remain a primary growth catalyst for the sector. Global real estate services company JLL reports that in the United States, less than five per cent of office space inventory is controlled by independent, third-party flexible space providers. With the post-COVID industry shifts, it projects that flexible workspace and shared amenity spaces will grow to approximately 30 per cent of the office market by 2030.

FRANCHISING

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2023/11/22 8:34 AM


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