Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May 2018

MASTER INVESTOR MASTER INVESTOR Patrice Motsepe Looking to the future BY MONIQUE DU TOIT Striking Gold 10 MAY/JUNE 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine W e see an article about it every day: technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace. Imagine, for a moment, daily life fifteen years ago. Mobile phones were relatively scarce, while smartphones were a distant dream. Transport was limited to trains, buses, or taxis - in fact, the very notion of getting into a car with a stranger you’ve hailed on an app would have seemed preposterous. Televis ions were small, decidedly un-smart, and pixellated at best. Internet con- nections were shady, with the majority of homes still firmly plugged into dial-up. Fast forward to 2018, and we have the world at our finger- tips. In this climate, investors are scrambling to grab a piece of the next profitable pie. Fintech, or financial technology, if you like, is making a splash in a big way. One of the biggest contenders in the game is online banking. Back in 2016, it was announced that a new bank had been granted a provisional license by the SARB. In September of 2017, the bank was is- sued an operating licence. Tyme Digital became the first new South African bank since 1999. But it has been making headlines for more reasons than that. Tyme (Take your money anywhere) was acquired by CBA (Commonwealth Bank SA) in 2015. A fully digital bank, Tyme will allow users to open bank accounts and make secure transactions within minutes. The bank has signed a 10 year agreement with Pick n Pay, which translates to physical kiosks through which users can register for the service. At the time of receiving its operating license, the bank had already secured more than 200 000 customers for the service. We’ve looked at proptech before, but it deserves another honourable mention. One of the biggest players in this market is Payprop, an automated property manager. Using a combi- nation of accounting, banking, and portfolio management, the proptech company looks to revolutionise how property owners manage their assets. Established back in 2004, Payprop has managed more than 500 000 leases, and processed more than R38b worth of transactions. The company is part of the Hu- manstate Group, an international private technology services group. They have subsidiaries in South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada. What links a digital bank and an online property manag- er? Aside from the obvious technological link, they are both companies that have caught the eye of local master investor, Patrice Motsepe. A local success story One of the wealthiest men in Africa, with a net worth of ap- proximately $2.1b, Patrice Motsepe has long been an influ- encer in the investment world. Born to a Spaza shop-owner father, Motsepe gained early insights into what it took to run a business. This work ethic, combined with degrees from both the University of Swaziland and the University of the Witwa- tersrand, lead Motsepe to become the first black partner at law firm, Bowman Gilfillan, in 1994. Taking advantage of the changing political climate and power, Motsepe founded Future Mining. The company fo- cused on providing services to the mining industry. A few years later, he purchased gold mines from AngloGold. In 1999, a firm was established by Motsepe to buy more mines - the source of his eventual wealth. This would eventually become African Rainbow Minerals. Recognised for his entrepreneurial spirit and business suc- cess, Motsepe was awarded the South Africa’s Best Entrepre- neur Award in 2002. He went on to become the first black African on the Forbes list in 2008. Possibly best known for his company, African Rainbow SA Real Estate Investor Magazine MAY/JUNE 2018 11

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