Biznews: News in 90 Seconds

JOHANNESBURG - Just like the Michael Jordaan-backed mobile data network 'Rain', there are more startups beginning to emerge in South Africa that are taking sledgehammers to traditional industries. One of those startups is a local fintech called 'Naked' which is taking digital customisation and personalisation in the car insurance industry to new heights. Among the options that Naked offers its customers include the ability to pause their car insurance if they go on holiday or start taking the train to work. Naked's claim to fame is that it has also become the first insurer in the country to relinquish underwriting profits. Instead, the company collects a fixed 20% of premium income to cover its costs. Naked is interestingly headed up by an actuary and former partner in EY’s insurance advisory business, Alex Thomson, who speaks to me in this interview about his latest venture. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — The latest available South African private equity performance report, compiled by SAVCA and RisCura, showed that a representative sample of SA’s private equity funds delivered a 10-year internal rate of return of 12.9% at the end of September 2017, which beat both the FTSE/JSE All Share Total Return Index (compound annual growth rate of 9.5%) and the FTSE/JSE Shareholder Weighted Total Return Index (10.6%). It also outperformed these indices over five-year and three-year periods. RMB Corvest plays in this space and is an on-balance sheet provider of PE. Biznews founder Alec Hogg chats to Mike Donaldson, a director of RMB Corvest, discussing the group’s more recent transactions, and how the playing field has improved since Cyril Ramaphosa came into power. - Stuart Lowman

LONDON — In this special podcast, RMB Investment Banking Director Ferdi Vorster tells us about the project which simplified a complex structure for the Distell Group to position it for a new growth path. The Distell Group, created in 2000 by a merger of Stellenbosch Farmers Wineries and the Rupert Group’s Distiller Corporation, has been hamstrung by a highly complex ownership structure. Here’s the story of how that Gordian knot was addressed.- Alec Hogg

JOHANNESBURG — Ronnie Apteker is well known as an internet pioneer and co-founder of Internet Solutions (IS) in South Africa. But he has also made a name for himself in the creative arts. And, in fact, he was one of the producers of a South African film dubbed 'Catching Feelings', which has recently become the country's first local film to be streamed on Netflix. It's a great movie that has been described as the Johannesburg version of a 'Woody Allen' RomCom that portrays the iconic South African city in a fresh light with eye-catching cinematography. In this interview, Apteker tells us more about the film as well as his involvement with a South African cybersecurity startup, Thinkst, that is making global waves. - Gareth van Zyl

JOHANNESBURG — It was almost exactly a year ago to the date that I interviewed former FNB CEO and now investor Michael Jordaan about a venture he backed dubbed 'Rain'. At the time, the idea of Rain appealed to many of our readers as Jordaan promised a data-only mobile network and disruption to the local market. A year later and Rain has launched with an attractive and simple no-contract offering that lets you use data when you need it without having to commit to bundles that expire. The man who's heading up Rain is actuary Willem Roos, who is interestingly the founder and former CEO of OUTsurance. And it is probably this type of outsider's perspective and experience that will assist him well in completely shaking up the local telecoms market while giving South Africans another competitive mobile data alternative. Take a listen to this fascinating interview with Roos on the launch of Rain. - Gareth van Zyl