Masakhe 02_DIGITAL PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 16
From his first day of high school
in Cape Town, where he knew only
“yes” or “no” in English, he has
navigated spaces where few people
looked like him. “Within corporates,
I’m still in the minority,” he says,
“and it is something that needs
to change.” He sees hope in the
shifting demographics of university
classrooms. “What is encouraging is
that the demographics of students
have changed already, so now it
is about bringing them into the
industry.”
ISSUE 2
His day-to-day work remains
hands-on, driven by the belief that
“retail is forever changing”. He starts
his day at 7:30, talking to tenants
and project teams, making site visits,
and looking for new opportunities
in townships and rural areas where
urbanisation is happening. The South
African retail industry, he argues,
is “surprisingly disciplined”. Having
learned from the “mistakes” of
American overdevelopment, local
players focused on getting closer
to shoppers, resulting in formidable
DECEMBER 2 025
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