South Africa - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

A Business that is created to meet the students need. The main idea here is to help students that go to institutions get accommodation more conveniently. Getting accommodation can be a real hassle and people often take advantage of this vulnerability.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

This is a project aimed at helping students get accessibility to accommodation. They will be able to access accommodation through us, helping them continue focussing on their school work while we we help them their home away from home. A place where, even their parents will be able to rest assured knowing their children are in safe and protected environments. We become the middle person between the students and the Landlords, so they get accommodation more swiftly. We help negotiate and put down understandable terms for both the students and the Landlords. Our services include : 1. Finding accomodations for students and tenants for the Landlords. 2. Storage facilities 3. Transportation for moving 4. Limited consulting services for the Landlords(currently still limited)

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

A lot of times,getting accommodation in institutions off-campus can be a challenge . There isn't enough capacity to house all students on-camp,therefore the ones who ddnt meet the requirements to stay on camp are often excluded and left to make plans for themselves. This leads to many being taken advantage off by scammers who claim to be Landlords,who then take their money and disappear. Its often the most challenging for 1st year students and those from unfavorable backgrounds because finding affordable accommodation that is near is also a challenge. Being stressed while trying to focus on their books is often discouraging and sometimes others aren't able to cope with this much stress and end up deregistering later on due to the stress build up. Which prevents them from acquiring Good education.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

1. Easy accessibility to accommodation. 2. Allowing them to focus on their school related challenges. 3. Protects students from being scammed . 4. It makes the interaction safer since we do background checks to find out the authenticity of the accommodations. 5. Easy transportation when moving in and out. 6.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

It is aimed at serving students that go to institutions. To be more specific,as a start its currently aimed at the University of Limpopo students. Mostly , 1st years and as well as the rest of the scholars as they often struggle getting accommodation. Going forward we increase our services and build a brand so we can also assist the students in other institutions

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2023-12-24

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

2

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

0

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

They have a background in media, currently pursuing a degree in the Bachelor of arts in media studies. Background in real estate and commerce.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554936540672

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

k) Property (real estate)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

3 people will be employed in the functioning of the company.

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

Students and locals employed will be able to generate income for themselves and help provide for their families

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

3

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

The assistance that students get will help them focus and keep them from stressing about where to go to get assistance for accommodation. They will also be protected from being scammed and robbed by thiefs and fraudsters pretending to be Landlords.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

Getting our services means more time to focus on their studies and they will have less stress . A lot of students end up dropping out due to the hardship they face from having to deal with looking for accommodation, challenges in the personal lives and also academic stress. Removing the stress of having to look for accommodation will have an impact.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

5

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

One of the people who will be hired on our team is going to be a female. This also increases the diversity and innovation that might arise due to the different perspectives.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

4

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

The Accommodations that we refer students to need to meet the living conditions necessary for a person to live comfortably. This puts an urge for Landlords to ensure the water provided and the envrioment as a whole is reasonable .

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

4

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

We advise Landlords to use sola geysers and as well as solar backup lighting for more savings ans sustainability .

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

We employ 3 people, meaning we have helped decrease unemployment rate and as well as the contribution we make through the income we generate. We also reduce the risk of fraud that was to take place in the non-existance of our company through scamming the students.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

Our goal is to build our own accommodations in future, this through capital acquisition that will enable us to do so.

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

2

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

No direct contribution except the empowering of our employees.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

3

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

Advise we give to the Landlords to keep the residences safe. Which makes an overall impact in the community.

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

No direct impact

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

No direct impact

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

No direct impact

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

No direct impact

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

Our business combats the crime that students usually face through getting scammed and fraudsters taking advantage of them. It also ensures fairness between the students and the Landlords because we're the mediator.

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

We work with students and Landlords to ensure the implementation of the goals. Like the solar geyser and lights use, combating the crime of the fraudsters, decreasing the stress students usually deal with and also ensuring protection for them . We also provide economic growth through employment opportunities.

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

3

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

2

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

5

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

2

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.08 Justification

Our services will be improved further as we continue to discover the uses of integrating technology with the business. We currently use Meta business suit to handle our accounts, yoho ,yoco and chat gpt and meta for approaching different things. We will keep on improving, I believe that it will mostly be in AI.

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

Room king, RE/MAX , Malan properties, They all focus on standard accomodation for the working class. None of them focus on students and even if they were to, the opportunity of being a student gives me an advantage. My experience as an intern at a real estate rentals company also increased my capacity and perspective in my approaches. We cater for students specifically, meaning our main target market are Landlords in the local areas and townships and students . We also offer differentiated services because none of the competitors offer Transportation for moving and storage facilities.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

I mentor female entrepreneurs and advise however I can and when I have the opportunity to