My school-going son recently drew my attention to a sign outside Omni Square Bassonia, a towering 12,000m² luxury retail and dining hub, and asked me what “Broll” was. It was the kind of question that jolts the mind. Behind the child’s curiosity lies a deeper question: who is actually building the framework for South Africa’s next economic chapter? Being familiar with the Broll story, I told my boy that the business, which provides professional real estate services, started in 1975, with a young Capetonian entrepreneur named Jonathan Broll investing in a block of flats. Nearly five decades later that seed has grown into one of Africa’s most influential property and real estate services firms. Broll operates across 37 African economies, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Namibia and Mauritius. Broll, which recently expanded into the United Arab Emirates, is no longer just a property manager; it is an integrated platform partner, bridging institutional sellers and private capital while proving that South Africa’s companies can lead globally. Having told my son what I knew about Broll, I began to wonder what Broll’s next step would be in this age of AI. How does it integrate AI to position itself for the next phase of growth? The old property game was about location. The new game is about three currencies. At Broll, they speak openly about this. First, performance currency: the boring, brutal discipline of operational excellence. Second, relationship currency: trust built over decades with clients, capital partners and suppliers. And third, the most underutilised of all: data currency. Yes, data. Even anonymised and aggregated client data, when treated as strategic intelligence, unlocks operational efficiency, tenant insights and portfolio-wide foresight. In a historically conservative market, Broll is treating data as a competitive defence. These are not just fashionable terms. Across Africa’s energy-insecure, infrastructure-strained markets, the ability to predict maintenance, optimise energy use and enhance tenant experience through analytics is the difference between survival and leadership of a facilities management company. Consider the structural changes that are happening quietly but fast. Take institutional real estate investment trusts (Reits), which own, operate and finance income-generating real estate. Reits have spent years restructuring balance sheets, disposing of assets at scale. That exodus has created a vacuum and an opportunity. Private capital, owner-operators, and yield-focused investors are entering the market. The sell-off creates opportunities for private investors and companies like Broll to step in, manage those properties or buy them — driving the next phase of growth in South Africa’s property market. Broll has positioned itself as the trusted disposal partner, bridging that gap. It is not just managing buildings; it is facilitating the entire capital cycle using its global partner, Cushman & Wakefield. And then there is the quiet story of jobs. Property and facilities management remain among the most labour-intensive sectors. Every commercial building needs technicians, electricians, security, cleaners, analysts and project managers. Broll’s expanding footprint is an engine for skills development and economic inclusion, critical in economies battling youth unemployment. But the most compelling argument is that Africa is urbanising rapidly. Demand for professionally managed retail centres, logistics hubs, healthcare facilities and mixed-use developments will explode. Global investors entering these markets need reliable local partners with governance, regional networks and market intelligence. In that regard, Broll is a trusted adviser, enabling foreign direct investment while championing sustainability, green building strategies and smart facilities management. Prompted by my son’s innocent question about Broll, I read up a bit more about this impressive South African private firm. What I realised was that Broll is not merely participating in Africa’s transformation. It is reshaping the industry, changing the game as a trusted partner of the largest malls, retail landlords and commercial property owners in South Africa and the rest of the African continent. In so doing, Broll indicates that the next phase of growth belongs not only to the strongest but also to those that integrate intelligence, relationships and execution into a single, seamless currency. • Lourie is founder and editor of TechFinancials.