Naspers chief executive says SA investments will have to address bigger societal needs

Naspers South Africa chief executive officer, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, says the company is on track with its investment in growing local tech businesses through the development of  tech founders and local entrepreneurs.

Mahanyele-Dabengwa was part of a panel discussion at the 2nd South African Investment Conference taking place in Johannesburg from 5 to 7 November.

“We have never lost sight of the fact that Naspers was founded in South Africa. We are the largest company on the JSE and South Africa is an important market for us,” said Mahanyele-Dabengwa.

“That’s why we established the Naspers Foundry – a South Africa focused tech-business funding initiative — with a R1.4 billion (roughly $100-million) commitment to back promising entrepreneurs in South Africa.”

Of the total R4.6 billion commitment that the company announced last year, which includes the R1.4 billion for Naspers Foundry, the group has so far invested R1.3 billion of its original pledge in its existing South Africa businesses Takealot, Mr D Food and Superbalist, as well as Media24 and OLX.

Naspers Foundry made its first investment of R30 million in online cleaning services company, Sweepsouth in June this year. This female founder-led business has created 15,000 jobs for domestic cleaners.

“Naspers can bring a unique perspective on global trends given its operations and investments in the consumer internet space in the most populous countries in the world,” said Mahanyele-Dabengwa.

“Our investment strategy for Naspers Foundry is simple and clear. We will partner with exceptional local entrepreneurs to build businesses with high-growth potential that address real societal needs in South Africa and beyond.”

Mahanyele-Dabengwa said her focus is to find and develop tech-enabled businesses with the potential to become the next big thing. Foundry will look for promising investments in Naspers’ existing verticals in South Africa’s e-commerce and internet sectors and beyond. These include online classifieds, food delivery, payments and fintech, among others.

The company lead said digital platforms are not only the future of doing business in South Africa but are also the means to make job creation more accessible, an opportunity to create a skilled workforce that can compete globally, and to create local products and services that improve the daily lives of ordinary people.

“We understand digitisation is directly linked to economic potential and that developing new platforms is a means to making South Africa more competitive on the global stage,” she said. “But I also firmly believe that it is not only about the businesses we build; we — as investors and corporate entities — need to make sure that we are supporting the country itself.”

Mahanyele-Dabengwa said Naspers Foundry’s investments will have to address bigger societal needs and help stimulate the South African economy and tackle youth unemployment, respectively. She believes a unique blend of the best of technology with the best of human endeavour will unlock the full potential of South Africa’s young people.

To address unemployment in impoverished communities, the company launched Naspers Labs, a social impact programme to help young, unemployed South Africans to open doors to their first employment opportunity.

The Labs provide a structured development journey enabling students to realise their potential and tap into online learning platforms, including those that Naspers has invested in, such as Udemy, Codecademy, and SoloLearn. To date more than 1500 youths have passed through the programme with 79% of graduates securing their first job.

“For me and for Naspers, digital transformation is a means to enable countries such as South Africa to leapfrog legacy structures. Digital enablement can only happen in companies that attract and develop highly talented people with strong digital and analytics capabilities. If we can’t find them, we must develop them,” she said.

“We can no longer say that technology is the future; it is the present. And our investment strategy will make it an economic reality.”

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