AN initiative launched two-and-a-half years ago by National Referral Network (NRN), aimed at getting historically disadvantaged estate agents on line, has received a welcome boost with the donation of 10 computer systems by Standard Bank and Buchanan Boyes Smith Tabata Attorneys.

According to NRN vice-chairman Terry Brookes, one of the members driving the project which has the full support of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB), and the focus is on the upliftment of disadvantaged agents.

"NRN's decision to support and recognise emerging estate agents has been under-pinned by the appointment of two new directors to head that division.

When we discovered that these estate agents faced a barrier to NRN membership because they didn't have the mandatory electronic equipment required to join, we approached Tony Ketcher, director of sales support of Standard Bank's homeloans division and Paul Clark of Buchanan Boyes Smith Tabata to help us to help them.

As a result, they have committed to supplying five computer systems each," said Brookes.

Of selection of recipients for the computer systems and NRN membership, which will be on a three-month trial basis, Brookes said, "They must be registered estate agents with Fidelity Fund certificates and have a regular turnover since it is not a new agent training initiative at this stage."

Other key players are NRN directors Segoale Mojapelo, who also heads the Pretoria chapter of Real Estate Agents of SA and Jan Bredenhan from Bloemfontein. Brookes and his fellow directors, along with leading industry figure Jan le Roux, head of the PA Group, are also on the EAAB task team that deals with ongoing black economic empowerment initiatives.