Future growth is fast becoming one of the largest investors in the development of infrastructure, pioneering a wave of retail construction in semi-rural areas and townships.

The fund management company recently opened a multimillion-rand shopping complex in Mkhuhlu township in Limpopo, bringing to 15 the number of rural retail property developments it has helped to finance over the past fewyears.

Futuregrowth Community Property Fund bankrolls the construction of the properties. This is done in response to President Thabo Mbeki's call for institutional investors to participate in the development of infrastructurein rural and underserviced areas.

The centres, located in all the provinces except Northern Cape, provide retail services and products to an estimated seven million people in thelow to middle income groups.

The fund is anchored by Shoprite Checkers and includes clothing, bankingand furniture retailers.

Wayne van der Vent, head of development funds at Futuregrowth, says construction of shopping centres in areas that are perceived as financially risky is essential.

"If the industry is going to continue investing only in places suchas Sandton, then I am afraid we are going to run out of areas in whichto invest.

"The performance of the fund has been good and shows that socially responsible investment can work. If we are to develop this country, we need to start using the investments of the working class to improve the lives of poorand unemployed people," says Van der Vent.

He adds that, for the projects to succeed, the communities need to be aware of all the benefits due to them.

"A lot of people are sceptical about the motives of big business.

"We spend a lot of time talking to people on the ground because we know that for the projects to be sustainable, we need community buy-in," he says.

Although Shoprite Checkers' move into townships has been sharply criticisedfor killing "corner stores", there are strong indications that the storesand shopping centres are benefiting a lot of people.

Jerry Moloi, chairman of the Soweto Junior Business Executive Council,says shopping centres have created jobs and are revitalising the ailing economies of townships.

"In the beginning we were worried about the impact that large businessessuch as Shoprite Checkers and Score were going to have on small businesses in townships such as Soweto. But we know now that we need to develop strategies to compete with them. We cannot chase them away. They employ a lot of people,"says Moloi.

In Mkhuhlu township, about R22-million was injected into the area duringthe construction phase of the Mkhuhlu Plaza. An estimated 1 000 jobs were created, Van der Vent says.

"We expect that the centre will provide jobs for about 500 long-termemployees and I hope that the new centre will form a hub for development in the area," he says.

In addition to formal trading space at Mkhuhlu Plaza, an area has beenset aside in the precinct for informal hawker stalls. It is hoped this will create additional jobs at a subsistence level.

According to Van der Vent, the extent to which retailers are benefitingfrom being in the centres is reflected in their results.

"Those who went with us in the beginning, including Shoprite Checkers,are generating a lot of revenue from these areas. The market is massive.

"Edgars is waking up to this business opportunity and banks are alsobecoming more involved, thanks to the financial services charter, whichrequires them to extend banking services to rural areas."

Business Times