South Africa

South African developer raises R1.4 billion for new Afrikaans private ‘university’ campus

Bianke Neethling • 29 July 2026

Kanton, the developer behind Akademia’s new campus in Pretoria East, registered R1.4 billion worth of financing on 13 July.

The campus is estimated to cost R3.2 billion and marks the largest project undertaken by the Afrikaans community without government support since the Voortrekker Monument was built in 1949.

In a recent social media post, Kanton managing director Henk Schalekamp provided an update on the progress his team has made on the campus thus far.

The project kicked off in August 2025, with its formal sod-turning ceremony having taken place on 28 November 2025.

Schalekamp said the project is progressing well, and the latest update is that Kanton registered R1.4 billion in financing on 13 July 2026.

He said these funds were received from a prominent pan-African bank, and that R450 million will go towards refinancing the company’s existing portfolio.

A further R900 million will go towards development financing for the project, with the balance made up by share capital.

“This is also progressing well. We are nearing the end, and we can see that in 2028, we will be opening for Akademia,” Schalekamp said.

Akademia previously said its campus is set to open in time for the 2028 first-year students. Once completed, the campus will be able to accommodate 5,000 students.

The project will also include residential facilities that can house 1,500 students. There will be four student residences.

Another interesting aspect of the project is that it will use an energy system that allows the campus to switch between different energy sources.

This system will automatically switch between municipal power, solar power, batteries, and generators to use the most effective energy source.

The campus spans 220 hectares and is located in Pretoria East, eight kilometres from Solomon Mahlangu Drive on the Boschkop Road.

Building a campus from scratch

Kanton’s Francois van Vuuren (middle) and Henk Schalekamp (right).

Kanton is currently working on the first phase of the campus’s construction, which includes the student residences and basic service infrastructure, such as electricity and water.

Kanton’s property director Francois van Vuuren said most of the project’s concrete work should be completed by the end of 2026.

In a recent article, Van Vuuren compared the project to a “bubble”, saying it was important when they first started to determine what the scope of the bubble would be.

“The client’s needs must be properly understood. Budgets, timelines, technology, and spaces must be planned realistically,” he said.

“If you define the bubble incorrectly, unrealistic expectations arise. Then reality starts to put pressure on the walls of that bubble… and eventually it bursts.”

Once the bubble’s been clearly defined, Van Vuuren said it becomes his job to protect it from threats such as poor communication, interest rates, and other unforeseen challenges.

“You can’t control everything, but you can make sure the team is prepared to respond to it,” he said.

Van Vuuren said he is in contact with 22 professional consultants, including architects, engineers, state planners, and environmental specialists, every day.

“The challenge is not to do everything yourself,” he explained. “It’s to make sure everyone is working from the same picture.”

Despite all this planning and consultation, Van Vuuren said surprises and unexpected challenges are inevitable for a project of this scale.

For example, one of the biggest surprises at the Akademia campus came early on, during its groundworks.

While Kanton had performed extensive geotechnical examinations beforehand, the condition of the ground proved markedly different from what they had originally expected.

Van Vuuren said this meant the soil model had to be adjusted five times and the extent of the earthworks increased by almost 30%.

Yet, he said the team was still able to complete this part of the project in time and within budget. “It was only possible because everyone was willing to find solutions together,” he said.