Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2013 | Page 11

S

isa Ngebulana is the Founder and
Executive Chairman of the Billion
Group Limited and the CEO of Rebosis
Property Fund. His entrepreneurial approach,
resourcefulness and achievements are nothing
short of spectacular, given the short time he has
had to build a sizeable property empire.
Rebosis is one of the fastest growing loan stock
companies on the JSE. It has grown its market
capitalisation from R2.2 billion since the first
listing in May 2011 to the current R6.5 billion.
Rebosis is also one of the first black managed
property funds to list on the JSE. They have a

UPFRONT
captained the Eastern Province rugby team
and played for the Springboks in the 1940s. Of
course, he was eventually kicked out of the team
due to his skin colour at the time Apartheid
thrived in 1948. Thereafter he started a soap
making business, but was forced to leave the
area in 1952. He then bought a smallholding in
Mthatha where he started planting vegetables
using two donkeys and a sleigh. He soon owned
a number of successful family businesses, which
included a general dealer, a butchery and a clay
brick-making factory along the river. In fact, his
grandfather has been such an inspiration to him
that Sisa is naming Mtatha Mall after him.

“Corruption will lead to the downfall
of our economy and our country transparency in government tender
processes is critical”
particularly successful development division
which they hope to capitalise on. Rebosis owns
all its own buildings and Sisa wants to see the
market cap at around R10 billion within the
next three years.
Sisa is a self-made billionaire entrepreneur.
He shr ugs off suggestions that he is a
“tenderpreneur” using government support to
achieve success. Although government is an
important client of Billion Group, Sisa believes
that corruption will lead to the downfall of our
economy and our country and that transparency
in government tender processes is critical.
Rebosis has an impressive retail property
portfolio, which includes the Hemingways
regional mall in East London, one of SA’s
top 20 malls, as well as Mdantsane Shopping
City in East London and Bloed Street Mall
in Pretoria. The company recently acquired
Sunnypark Shopping Centre in Pretoria.
In addition, the company owns a number
of government-tenanted commercial office
buildings.
Sisa has had his fair share of successes and
failures in his life, which he considers to be life
lessons. He was born and bred in the Eastern
Cape town of Mthatha in East London. His
grandfather Buchanan Tandi (BT) Ngebulana
was a strong leader and very influential in the
community. He built most of the local schools,
www.reimag.co.za

Sisa had the privilege of helping, learning
and working in the shop and at the brickfields
in his formative years, during which time his
father mentored him in fundamental business
skills. He inherited his father’s strong morals
and work ethics, which saw his father become
a successful 100% self-made entrepreneur,
despite being suppressed and alienated by
Apartheid blocking out black businessmen in
the 60’s and 70’s.
The general dealer became the central point
of contact between the villagers and family
members working in the cities, who would
send money to the village to build their families
a home. Sisa remembers getting involved in
the building of local houses as a 12-year-old
child, doing the planning on a piece of paper,
then preparing plans and foundations for four
bedroom brick houses and rondawels. He
did all the costing without calculators and
co-ordinated the building himself.
He matricu lated at St John’s Col lege
in Mthata, and then attended Fort Hare
University in Eastern Cape to study law,
inf luenced by his grandmother who used to
win all the arguments in their home! He then
attended the University of Natal (now KZN)
and enrolled as an estate agent with Realty
Elk to finance his studies and living expenses.
Sisa also started speculating with property
and flipped properties for cash. He sold about

SISA MICHAEL
NGEBULANA
Personal Statistics
Age: 47
Qualifications/Experience:
University of Fort Hare, B Juris;
University of Natal (now KZN), LLB;
Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ),
LLM Masters degree; Cape High Court
attorney
Achievements: Entrepreneur of
the Year 2006; Past President of SA
Shopping Council; Member of Clinton
Global Initiative.
Marital status: Divorced with 2 kids
aged 15 and 12 who live with him. His
life is focused on his business during
the week and his family and kids over
the weekends.

Close-up
Mentors: Sisa’s grandfather is his
biggest inspiration, conscience and
mentor. Nelson Mandela is another great
inspiration, a man with an ideal he was
prepared to die for. Sisa admires great
characters and draws inspiration from
people such as mining magnate Brian
Gilbertson and Mick Davis.
Books: He enjoys reading financial
reports, novels and biographies,
particularly those about Richard Branson,
Barack Obama and Warren Buffett, as
well as books about the early successful,
self-made entrepreneurs such as Richard
Maponya and Anton Rupert.
The best financial advice Sisa has
been given?
Sisa learnt his financial fundamentals from
his grandfather, who taught him to save,
to be curious and resourceful in creating
wealth and leaving a legacy, to educate
himself about investments and to invest in
property and stock markets.

July 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

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