An AI-powered property solution is bridging the wealth gap for millions. E-DEED grants financial identity to the “unbanked” by valuing informal homes.
A dormant asset class worth between R2 and R3 trillion has been sitting in South Africa’s townships and rural areas, largely invisible to the formal economy.
Without title deeds, pay slips, or formal jobs, an estimated 90% of South Africans have cash-built homes, a massive store of wealth that remains locked away, stifling national GDP growth.
Now, a high-tech solution has arrived on dusty streets. Entrepreneurs Lance Chalwin-Milton, GG Alcock, and Senzo Tsabedze have launched E-DEED, a property evaluation system driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain. It provides a 97% accurate valuation and an associated non-fungible token (NFT), finally recognising the legacy investments of thousands of “unbanked” homeowners.
Informal sector guru, GG Alcock, explains the critical need:
“The reality is that millions of homes will never get title deeds, especially in tribal and Ngonyama trust areas. Township and RDP homes have their own complexities related to historical and cultural issues. This is why, in the absence of a title deed, we need to find ways to help owners with no hope of title deeds to realise the value of the asset in which they have invested.”
For Chalwin-Milton, this mission is personal: “We want to make the unwealthy, wealthy. When we say ‘unwealthy’, that is a misnomer. These assets can be worth R1 to R2-million or more. This is a 100% equity asset.”
He reveals that of an estimated 20 million homes in South Africa, only about nine million are deeded, leaving a vast informal market unrecognised.
Tsabedze highlights how E-DEED combats traditional inefficiencies. Requiring only a smartphone, the platform creates an insurable interest for properties, addressing a stark gap where currently just 11.54% of South African homes are insured. Chalwin-Milton points to the KZN floods as a tragic example: “Insured mansions in Umhlanga were covered whilst large family homes in Umlazi were completely lost. That is absolutely criminal… By creating the insurable interest – insurance will be available for the first time ever.”
Alcock sees this as a fundamental shift: “I think that this will fundamentally reshape our financial sector when it comes to asset finance and how we look at housing. There is a moral prerogative as well as a business opportunity in changing this.”
The ambition extends beyond South Africa’s borders. The founders aim to expand E-DEED into at least six additional African countries by the end of next year, poised to transform property and financial inclusion across the continent.
