Masa Capital

31/01/2019

Good Morning

As we had communicated yesterday that we experienced delays during our opening. For those who managed to come to our office yesterday, we have explained that we are experiencing an issues with our print media information. The supplier we had tasked to print our Constitution, Information Booklets, Membership Forms and as well as other media has failed to meet the deadline as agreed upon. These are documents which are vital to our operations and serve as a communication platform for our walk in customers as well as showing the image & brand that we at Masa Capital want to portray & maintain to our clients going forward.

Due to this reason, we have wholly decided to close our office until Monday in order to sort out this issue. We apologies for the inconvenience caused by the closure.

30/01/2019

Good Afternoon

As we had already stated in our previous posts, we are open for business. Due to some delays, we had to open later than expected. We open at 2 pm today and close at 5 pm.

We are located adjacent to Romans Pizza & NFP, opposite Jet Store in Rail Park Mall. Further note that we are operating within a co-working office space, with Sands Wilderness.

Operating Hours:

Monday-Friday 9am-5pm (Including Lunch Hour)
Saturday 9am-2pm (Including Lunch Hour)

We would like to take this moment to make give our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

29/01/2019

Good Day

Be reminded that we are officially opening our office tomorrow, we are located in Rail Park Mall adjacent to Romans Pizza.

Furthermore, note that our opening competition is still running until close of business tomorrow.

Good Evening

We are pleased to announce that we will be opening our office on Wednesday 30th January. We will be located at Rail Park mall, adjacent to Romans Pizza.

To begin our journey with you, we are giving you a chance to win 3 months off your annual contribution at the minimum contribution value. The competition applies only to our one year schemes. There will be two winners.

To enter like this post and comment with the answer to the questions below:

What is your investment goal? Why do you join a Motshelo on a annual basis? Do you have something tangible to show for all your savings efforts?

The two comments that get the most likes shall be selected as the winners, if more than two comments have the same number of likes and share the top spot, then we shall randomly pick the two winners with the best answer. The competition runs until the 30th of January. Best of luck.

Acknowledgement: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

26/01/2019

Good Evening

We are pleased to announce that we will be opening our office on Wednesday 30th January. We will be located at Rail Park mall, adjacent to Romans Pizza.

To begin our journey with you, we are giving you a chance to win 3 months off your annual contribution at the minimum contribution value. The competition applies only to our one year schemes. There will be two winners.

To enter like this post and comment with the answer to the questions below:

What is your investment goal? Why do you join a Motshelo on a annual basis? Do you have something tangible to show for all your savings efforts?

The two comments that get the most likes shall be selected as the winners, if more than two comments have the same number of likes and share the top spot, then we shall randomly pick the two winners with the best answer. The competition runs until the 30th of January. Best of luck.

Acknowledgement: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

22/01/2019

UPDATES

Good Afternoon. Compliments of the New Season. We have come up with new schemes which will add on to the ones we have already promoted.

ONE YEAR SCHEMES

These schemes are typically for those individuals who are willing to commit funds for the short term but want to enjoy returns in the long term as we have noted that some are only able to commit funds for a short period only. The contribution period shall be for one year only. The schemes shall be divided into 2 categories and shall be open ended in that there is a set minimum contribution amount per month but there is no set maximum contribution amount per month, thus the equitable interest per member will be determined by the aggregate amount contributed at the end of the year. These schemes may be used by members as a starting point to generate extra income to join either our residential property schemes or franchise schemes (Close Ended).

1. CORPORATE OPEN END PLAN
• Open to all individuals with a proven source of income.
• Minimum contribution amount is P500 per month.
• Limited to only 2000 members annually.
• Base annual aggregate amount is P12 million.

2. STUDENT OPEN END PLAN
• Open to all registered tertiary students only.
• Minimum contribution amount is P200 per month.
• Limited to only 2500 members annually.
• Base annual aggregate amount is P6 million.

A non-refundable application fee of P200 per individual shall be charged once off. The funds pooled under each scheme shall be used to acquire/build investment properties and/or franchises for the members. There shall be an administration, management and reserve fee charged at 6% annually on contributions. These schemes can be used as a stepping stone to generate extra income in order to join our other schemes such as the residential property schemes or the close ended franchise schemes.

BENEFITS OF POOLED FUNDS
A Pooled Fund (“Motshelo”) is the combined funds of multiple investors which, when added together, create greater purchasing power (and thus more diverse and rewarding investment opportunities), through simple economy of scale. By pooling resources with other investors we are all able to achieve something greater than what we could achieve on our own.

We’ve all heard the expression, “The rich keeping getting richer”. This is often because high net worth individuals and institutional investors pool their resources, and are able to invest in Botswana’s best performing, most stable real estate assets and other investments. In fact, the wealthiest already own most of Botswana’s “High Ground”, of large and expensive assets.

Few people in Botswana can afford to buy these kinds of investment properties. As a result the prices of these buildings are relatively low, while their returns are relatively high, compared to similar, but smaller, investments, which local investors are able to compete for. This means this type of investment will yield higher returns without assuming higher risk.

The opposite happens with smaller real estate investment properties. Smaller investment properties generate greater competition, which drives up the price and reduces potential returns. Therefore, in order to make the most of investment funds, seize the best investment opportunities, and assume the least amount of risk, intelligent investors should adopt the same principles of the high net worth and institutional investors, and pool resources. This will enable you to invest in those well-positioned, quality buildings, which offer stable cash flow and high returns. By pooling resources with other investors you will be able to invest in the higher ground too.

This is also true for franchise opportunities, the capital outlay required to acquire a franchise business is massive. This implies that the fewer Batswana can afford to venture into this industry if they go at it alone. Cognizance should be taken of the franchise industry in South Africa, which is the most developed on the continent, with over 757 franchise systems which include around 35 000 business outlets and offers direct employment to around 330 000 people. These figures exclude a number of franchise systems such as motor vehicle and equipment dealerships, motor vehicle and equipment rental, fuel and service stations, hotels and a number of other businesses, which are franchise systems, but not always viewed as such. As Batswana we can be able to follow suit if we re-envision the way we structure our already existing informal savings groups called “Metshelo.”

We have been involved in these “Metshelo” for decades, now it is the time to change our end goals and see to it that we build generational wealth. The time for using these informal savings groups for year end spending or rotational contributions should come to an end, we should move from “Metshelo” being short term goal oriented to long term oriented investment vehicles.

OFFICE & SEMINAR

We will make an update by the close of business today on the status of our offices as well as the upcoming seminar we will be hosting at the beginning of February.

We will ensure that all the pending messages shall be replied to promptly.

12/11/2018

Good Evening

We have received many questions and/or comments over the past 3 days. Therefore, we have decided to offer clarity on the matters below:

1. Registration & Monthly Contribution

Note that the mere creation of this page is to advance and promote our business model and our product offerings. Our aim at Masa Capital is to ensure safe guards over the funds of our prospective members, hence we are working around the clock to ensure that we are dully registered/recognized by NBFIRA and there is a regulatory framework in place before we start accepting applications and contributions. We remain highly optimistic that we will have completed the process soon. Our intention is to start accepting members by the start of January 2019.

2. Country wide Tour

Our intention is to carryout a country wide tour from the 10th December, we will be pitching stalls and conducting seminars/conferences at selected villages, towns and cities in order to deliver our business model and product offerings to more people. We will communicate the schedule for our tour soon, so that you do not miss out.

3. Cluster Groups

Our model hinges on cluster groups so that we can leverage on the power of collective purchasing. As the Administrator, we will be tasked with grouping our members into cluster groups on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE basis. Being put under a certain cluster group will be determined by the type of scheme chosen, the type of house you wish to build, location where you want to build/purchase the house as well as the package chosen. Our aim is to connect and link people with similar interests and reside in the same village, town or city so as to ensure all houses built/purchased are of the same value. Nonetheless, given that members wish to apply as a group which is already existing ( comprising of friends, family members, colleagues etc) then we shall make necessary considerations and arrangements during the application process.

4. Information Booklet

For those who wish to know more about our model, regulatory framework and product offerings, please indicate in the comments that so we can send you our information booklet. We will ensure that we also attach the booklet in our page.

If you need any more clarity, please feel free to contact us or comment with your questions below.

11/11/2018

"Reality Check"

Statistics Botswana revealed that on average citizens earn P5,871 while non-citizens earn around P17,830. The data agency added that the combined average pay in Botswana is P6,211. One also has to pay the Taxman, medical aid, contribute towards their pension, pay rent, service their personal loan and probably pay premiums for car insurance. If the gross salary does not eliminate one from qualifying for a mortgage then the deductions will most certainly eliminate him/her from acquiring a mortgage. This means that the average Motswana does not qualify for a small mortgage loan. But we do have BHC, with its rent to own model which can rescue the average Motswana out there to realize their dream of owning a home, yet recently they have taken the unorthodox approach of selling their properties out right with no rent to own model, pretty much forcing us back to the banks to get mortgages and if they do propose a rent to own model, we can all imagine the hurdle it will be to get into the program. Just as paying taxes, pension and medical aid, home ownership should be a key necessity.

Allow us to breakdown the numbers for you under our Contribute-to-Own Financing and those under Mortgage Financing.

1. Contribute-to-Own Financing

Monthly Gross Salary : P 9,000
Maximum Number of years : 10 years
Monthly Contribution scheme : P 3,000
Cluster group : 10 people
House Value : P 360,000
Package : Build to Rent
Rental Value : P 3,000
Rental attributable to each member: P 300 per house built

Breakdown of Monthly Contribution per year (Reducing the contribution by the monthly rent attributed to a single member from each house built)

Year 1 : P 3,000
Year 2 : P 3,000 - P 300 = P 2,700
Year 3 : P 3,000 - P 600 = P 2,400
Year 4 : P 3,000 - P 900 = P 2,100
Year 5 : P 3,000 - P 1,200= P 1,800
Year 6 : P 3,000 - P 1,500= P 1,500
Year 7 : P 3,000 - P 1,800= P 1,200
Year 8 : P 3,000 - P 2,100= P 900
Year 9 : P 3,000 - P 2,400= P 600
Year 10: P 3,000 - P 2,700= P 300

This is a simplified calculation on how the scheme will work if members opt for a build to rent package during the 10 year term. By the end of the term, all rentals cease and the members are awarded the houses. Strict maintenance exercises will be carried out by us on behalf of the members, to ensure the quality and value of all houses remain preserved.

2. Mortgage Financing ( If one is blessed enough to be awarded a mortgage loan)

Monthly Gross Salary : P 9,000
Maximum Number of years: 20 years
House Value/Loan amount : P 300,000
Locked Interest Rate : 10.5%
Monthly repayment : P 3,000
Origination Costs : P 25,000
Deposit : P 30,000
Total amount repaid : P 720,000
Total interest paid : P 420,000

This is a simplified calculation to show how much you will be charged or have to pay in total.

The workings above show that our model is better suited for home ownership and acquisition.

Key issues to address as asked by many of our followers:

1. Regulations

The whole initiative is governed or regulated in 3 ways:

a) Masa Capital as the Administrator is incorporated and governed as per the Companies Act. The only money that will be received by the Administrator will be those that relate to application fees and administration fees.

b) Masa Capital Investment Society is a society governed by the Societies Act, it comprises of the Administrator and the registered members. The Constitution in place for the society, permits for two key regulatory bodies, the Audit/Finance Committee and the Operations Committee (Executive Board). The Audit/Finance Committee is made up of a limited number of representatives from the the Administrator and those members who will be elected to the committee during a meeting of all members and its mere existence allows for the society to be audited by an External Auditor selected by the committee. The Operations Committee comprise of the Administrator as the president/ vice president and all other 7 positions will be filled by elected members during the AGM. This is just a brief summary of the governance and regulation in place for the society. The society serves as the custodian of the funds contributed by members, the bank accounts for the Administrator and Society are separate, with different signatories.

c) Currently, we are pending approval by NBFIRA but that is our main focus at the moment. This is will be the last and overall regulation for both the two entities above. You will note that by the mere creation of this page, we are advancing our advertising initiatives and we are not yet accepting any contributions before we are dully approved by NBFIRA. We are stepping up our effort to close the NBFIRA matter.

2. Office location

Our offices are located in Main Mall, but we are still under renovations/ furnishing and are not yet open for walk-in customers. Our intentions are to build momentum on our products and offerings by stepping up our advertising efforts through Facebook. We hope that in 2 weeks time our offices will be in a good condition for a grand opening. Note, however pending one critical matter to be done with NBFIRA to ensure that we comply to regulations, we will only be opening our doors for inquiries and to engage with potential customers. Once the matter is closed with NBFIRA then we will start accepting customers and their contributions.

10/11/2018

We have noted that more people want to know about home ownership under our schemes. We have clarified the matter below:

We will be accepting applications and form cluster groups which consists of 10 people who will be paying the same amount as their monthly contribution, however members can also choose to apply as a group of 10. We will be determining the order of receipt of houses on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE basis but the houses will be owned by the Cluster group for the period of 10 years, the individual members will be awarded ownership to their houses once the 10 year period elapses. We have the following packages for our schemes:

1. Buy/Purchase to Occupy

Should the due recipient choose this option to occupy the property purchased on his/her behalf but co-owned by the cluster group they shall notify the cluster group and the Administrator, he/she will pay rent money (discounted rate) for the period of 10 years to the cluster group, which is also referred to as RENT TAX (as a member should not pay rent that would be at market value). A member will have to pay a lower rent (rent tax). The amount of money (rent tax) shall be determined by the cluster group and approved by the Administrator. The rent tax shall be equally distributed to all 10 members within the cluster group.

2. Buy/Purchase to Rent out

A recipient shall guide his cluster group on his/her intention, should he/she pick this option the members shall inform the Administrator to actively seek a tenant to rent out the place and all rental incomes shall be equally distributed.

3. Build to Sell

Should the due recipient go with this option or cluster- group, they shall use the services of Masa Capital such as the developer or Partner services (Administrator approval) to develop such property and then an in-house Estate Agent shall find a buyer. On the sale of such development the profits made shall be equally distributed to all group members.

4. Build to rent out

Should the due recipient go with this option or cluster- group, they shall use the services of Masa Capital such as the developer or Partner services (Administrator approval) to develop such property and then an in-house Estate Agent shall find tenants to let. Income Rental fees shall be equally distributed to all group members.

5. Build to Occupy

Should the due recipient go with this option or cluster- group, they shall use the services of Masa Capital such as the developer or Partner services (Administrator approval) to develop such property. he/she will pay rent money (discounted rate) for the period of 10 years to the cluster group, which is also referred to as TAX RENT (as a member should not pay rent that would be to a market value), a member will have to pay a lower rent money determined by the cluster group and approved by the Administrator. The rent tax shall be equally distributed.

6. Purchase Land to Develop

Should a recipient wish to use the funds due to him/her in intention to purchase land, the land shall be co-owned and the excess in funds shall be used to build the property. A member using this option will have to also combine it with one of the options from 3 to 5.

7. Franchise

The franchise outlet shall be owned by the whole cluster group in perpetuity, safe for an event of sale to one member or a third party. The income from the franchise shall be distributed equally among the members. Masa Capital & its partners will be in place to manage the outlet on behalf of the cluster and ensure all members’ interests are well represented.

Note the following:

a) No immediate transfer of ownership to individual members: Houses built/purchased under our scheme shall be owned by the cluster group for the 10 year period and transfer to individual members shall only be made after the period elapses. This is to ensure commitment from the cluster group members for the stipulated period.

b) Build/Purchase to Rent: The choice of options are dependent on the members and the cluster groups, but as an Administrator, Masa Capital highly recommends the build/purchase to rent approaches as the monthly rentals can be used to greatly reduce the monthly contributions made to the scheme by our members. For example, under our P3,000 a month scheme, the house built in the first year can attract rentals of about P3,000 which will be equally distributed among the members in the cluster group, thus each member will get P300 per month in the second year from rentals which will reduce their monthly contributions to P2,700. By the 10th year there will be 9 houses built which attract a total of P27,000 in rentals, implying that each member gets an equal share of P2,700 per month, reducing the monthly contributions to just P300.

c) Inflation adjustment: It is also important to note that our scheme ensures that all members get similar houses with similar values, hence due to the incident of inflation, every year we will be increasing the monthly contributions by the CPI rate which usually ranges from 3% to 6%.

d) Cluster groups formation: As another way of ensuring equity among our members, we will try by all means to form cluster groups based on region, district, village and/or city in which member resides. This combined with the inflation adjustment will ensure same value of house for all of our members.

10/11/2018

"Contribute-to-Own Model vs Mortgage Financing"

1. The average Motswana does not qualify for a mortgage loan. This is especially true for the youth and young professionals who have just joined the work force. The more years you stay in your current job the better your chances of getting a mortgage loan but as you grow closer to your retirement then the loan repayment will be a bit higher. Our Contribute-to-Own model is all inclusive, it caters for anyone with a stable income and a willingness to commit funds for the stipulated years, this is a model which is more suitable for young professionals.

2. The interest rate you pay on your mortgage loan in most cases is always double or more than the initial loan amount you got from your bank. For instance if you want to build or purchase a house valued at P300,000 and you acquire a 20 year term mortgage loan with a minimum gross salary of P9,000, then you will have to pay a monthly repayment amount of roughly P3,000. This means that at the end of the 20 year term, you would have paid an amount in the excess of P720,000. However, our Contribute-to-Own model ensures that you finance your house free of debt, this means that your house is built purely with your own funds through a collective means and the period is no more than 10 years for a P360,000 house paying P3,000 per month.

3. Mortgage brokers make money off the “front” and “back” of your loan, and most of the time, the borrower only sees the “front” part of the equation. The “front” part is the amount of the origination fee you may or may not be paying, and it always shows up on the good faith estimate. The “back” part is the money they make off of the rate you get. Sometimes mortgage companies will advertise, “No origination!”, but all that typically means is they’re tacking all of their fees onto the back of the loan in the form of a higher rate than they could actually get for you. In addition, these fees are just for giving you the loan. They don’t include all the money the lender makes off of you in interest over the life of your loan. For instance a bank will charge you these initial fees before you acquire your mortgage loan: transfer cost and bond costs as well as the initial 10% deposit of the amount you want to acquire. Then you also have to pay the arrangement fees/ bank charges, home protection plan premiums and home loan protection plan premiums. In our previous example, where you want to acquire a mortgage of P300,000 on a 20 year term then you will have to initially pay more than P60,000 in the way of bond, transfer and deposit fees and incur more than P30,000 over the life of the loan in the way of service, insurance and bank charges. This are costs you can avoid using our Contribute-to-Own model, with an once off charge of P200 for application and 5% on your month contribution for administration and legal expenditures associated with property acquisition. This means that when paying P3,000 monthly, we charge P150 which translates to fees of roughly P18,000 over the 10 year term.

4. Self-employed business owners are typically the hardest borrowers to get loans for because many business owners write off so much of their income, it looks like they’re bringing home nothing. Clearly that isn’t always the case, but it’s the only thing the underwriters can use to prove income on a self-employed borrower, and they won’t overlook something as important as tax returns. As already stated above our model is all inclusive and caters more for those undeserved by the banking sector.

5. You would think that learning to pay all of your bills in cash, saving up to buy your cars in cash, and not having a credit card and its corresponding debt would be a good thing when you are applying for a mortgage, but that’s not exactly true. If you don’t have a credit score because you’ve always been good with your money and never utilized credit, then it will be much harder for you to get a mortgage than it would be for a person who has 5 credit cards, 2 car loans, and 7 student loans with a higher debt ratio. Banks want to see documentation that you pay your bills on time and that you can handle having credit. This information comes to them in the form of a credit report, so if you don’t have a credit score, then you have to come up with different ways to prove to the lender that you pay your bills. This can make it tougher to get a mortgage.There are very few loan programs that exist that allow you to use what’s called “alternate credit” to prove your creditworthiness. If you do qualify for one of those programs, you must find 3 different companies you use that are willing to vouch for your creditworthiness. Examples include your utility company (if they are in your name), your cell phone company, or your car insurance company. Our model is not concerned with credit scores as a means of determining eligibility for membership but it looks into the ability of the member to commit funds for the stipulated period.

6. While underwriters do want to see that you have enough money to cover your down payment, they typically don’t care how much money you have in the bank. There’s a spot on a mortgage application for you to list your cars and other assets, but it really doesn’t matter to an underwriter because those things aren’t collateral for the mortgage. The thing that matters the most is your income. What I mean by that is this: let’s say you have P200,000 in the bank, but you only make P100 an hour. You want to finance a P300,000 home. Even if you have enough money in the bank to cover the loan, you aren’t going to get that mortgage if you don’t qualify for it on your income. Your debt-to-income ratio is of the utmost importance. The lender doesn’t care if you have 17 paid for Mercedes Benz’s in your garage, or 10 paid for houses for that matter. They worry about your income more than your non-liquid assets. Our Contribute-to-Own model transcends beyond just the debt-to-income ratio but looks more into one's inclination to commit funds for the stipulated period.

In conclusion, at Masa Capital we are bringing a more inclusive model in the way of property financing and acquisition which will allow more Batswana to achieve their dream of home ownership without paying exuberant mortgage loan fees and interest, with no hold over their property for a period of 20 years or more. We are offering a simplified and easier way for home ownership leveraging on the power of collective purchasing. The term for our property schemes is 10 years with a group of 10 people paying the same amount in terms of monthly contribution, but a group may decide to cut the period to 5 years by paying double the monthly contribution on a monthly basis.

For any clarification, you can send us a message.

09/11/2018

Contribute-to-own that's what Masa Capital is proposing to Batswana out there. Setswana sa re Mabogo Dinku. If we take a look at Indians they use crowd-funding to be successful like they are, Its high time we do it to.