EasyProperties and Narrative celebrate at The Blyde

By Standwa Nongauza, EasyEquities brand champion

On a Friday afternoon in early September, two of my colleagues and I bundled ourselves into an Uber from the heart of Joburg (Braamfontein) and headed for a suburban village just south of Mamelodi called The Blyde. Just a day later, Mamelodi Sundowns would clinch the South African Premier Soccer League from SA’s most popular team in dramatic fashion. This would be two wins in one weekend for me.

The second win came via a work function hosted at The Blyde to mark EasyProperties’ partnership with property fund, Narrative. The socially distanced gathering celebrated the Covid-deferred launch party of EasyProperties – an online platform that makes online retail property investing possible.

Like its parent company, EasyEquities, EasyProperties is built on the same principles albeit in a different sector: purpose before profit, making investing accessible as well as tech-friendly. Where EasyEquities plays in the stock markets, EasyProperties is all about real estate.

The event would be emceed by my marketing teammates, Bonolo and Lesedi, and was organised by our friends at CN&CO.  The launch mostly comprised EasyEquities/Properties teammates and clients, as well as the Narrativ gang. Our Easy squad arrived by party bus, led in festivities by our CEO, Charles Savage, along with a couple of client engagement and corporate actions teammates.

Just under an hour later and we’d arrived at our destination. That’s when it hit me – this was the first physically tangible investment I had made, and I was standing in it.

Since I’m a clever chap, I decided beforehand to book myself a flat for the night via Airbnb. Sidenote: shout out to my host, Richard. I sought the full Lagoon experience – I wanted to walk on the man-made beach and see what the hype was actually about – the first of its kind in Southern Africa. I got to see what kind of people were calling it home and see for myself just how occupied the apartments were. I asked myself if it was a space I could see myself staying in.

Why invest in something if you can’t understand its consumption and appeal?

To my surprise, construction was still taking place. More units were being built on the periphery, as well as another communal space being developed right next to the beach entrance. I also witnessed a few people lugging suitcases onto the premises with my fingers crossed that this popularity would translate to dividends.

By the time I had left Pretoria to return to Johannesburg, my team had won the league on the last day after dwelling in second place for most of the season. The second win, though, is in the making.

The EasyProperties team and investors are still in the early stages of its own season, but if this event at The Blyde highlighted anything, it’s how resilient, faithful, fun, and smart our community and teammates are.