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Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

News24 47 Episodes Oct 29, 2026

Bestselling author and broadcast legend Bruce Whitfield returns with a bold new News24 podcast. Each episode focuses on the one business news story that will change your world, along with investment and personal finance advice from top experts and the inside track on SA’s most successful hustles. New episodes every Thursday at 17:00.

Episodes

30% of SA’s electricity is lost or stolen. Blu Label wants to fix that
30% of SA’s electricity is lost or stolen. Blu Label wants to fix that Oct 29, 2026 00:32:35 In this episode, Bruce Whitfield chats to Blu Label Unlimited joint CEO Mark Levy about why the company that started selling SIM cards is now building a R360 million solar plant for Ekurhuleni. With electricity overtaking airtime as the biggest revenue line – and 30% of municipal electricity lost or stolen – Levy makes the case for why Blu Label sits at the centre of SA’s municipal energy crisis.
Is SA still eating out? And the rail sensor thieves won’t touch
Is SA still eating out? And the rail sensor thieves won’t touch Oct 22, 2026 00:33:22 In this episode, Famous Brands CEO Darren Hele joins Bruce Whitfield to unpack a tough first half, in which casual dining felt the squeeze while quick service held up. With fuel costs threatening food inflation and interest rates heading higher, Healy explains how Famous Brands is fighting for every customer in an economy that simply isn’t growing. Franz Struwig of HisWay Labs discusses a railway
Petrol heading for R33. Plus: Pantry’s big ambitions and Mo’s Crib
Petrol heading for R33. Plus: Pantry’s big ambitions and Mo’s Crib Oct 15, 2026 00:37:38 In this episode, Greg Solomon, the new CEO of Pantry by Marble, discusses what it takes to scale a chef-driven luxury food concept without losing its soul. After 15 years of growing McDonald’s SA to 400 locations, Solomon is now applying that discipline to David Higgs’ rapidly expanding premium brand. Michelle Mokone of Mo’s Crib tells the story of two sisters from Mabopane who sold their iPhones
From just R15k to 6 million SA socks. Plus: A storm at Afrimat
From just R15k to 6 million SA socks. Plus: A storm at Afrimat Oct 8, 2026 00:35:56 Afrimat CEO Andries van Heerden joins Bruce to unpack the group’s toughest six months since listing in 2006. Soaring shipping rates, a stronger rand, a mine reaching the end of its life and ferrochrome smelter shutdowns pushed the market darling into a loss, but he argues the way through is clear, even if the timing isn’t. Jurgens Uys, co-founder of Versus Socks, talks about turning R15 000 and a
Why Capitec keeps winning. Plus: The Courier Guy's locker revolution
Why Capitec keeps winning. Plus: The Courier Guy's locker revolution Oct 1, 2026 00:37:31 In this episode, Capitec CEO Graham Lee joins Bruce to unpack another extraordinary set of results from South Africa’s most disruptive bank. With 16.5 million digital clients, a cost to income ratio that has dropped to just 36 cents in the rand and business banking growing at over 50%, Capitec continues to defy every sceptic. Lee explains why the branch network is not a cost but a competitive adva
Real-time money is changing everything. Is your business keeping up?
Real-time money is changing everything. Is your business keeping up? Sep 29, 2026 00:23:52 Most of us have stopped thinking about payments. You tap your card, tap your phone, and walk out. It just works. But behind that two-second tap is one of the most complex and fast-moving infrastructure systems in the modern economy – and it is changing faster than most businesses realise.In this standalone episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, Bruce sits down with Chris Zietsman, executive h
Poverty tax, Momentum’s billions and SA’s Formula One gamble
Poverty tax, Momentum’s billions and SA’s Formula One gamble Sep 23, 2026 00:38:37 In this episode, Momentum CEO Jeanette Marais unpacks a standout year, with normalised headline earnings hitting R7 billion ahead of schedule, five business segments crossing R1 billion for the first time, and India emerging as the group’s most exciting long-term growth story after the health insurance joint venture with Aditya Birla Capital turned profitable for the first time in a decade. Eben d
Fertiliser to fintech: Omnia feeds Africa, Optasia banks it
Fertiliser to fintech: Omnia feeds Africa, Optasia banks it Sep 17, 2026 00:35:25 In this episode, Omnia Group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy discusses a record year driven by Africa’s growing food security imperative, with fertiliser demand rising across the continent and a strategy built around becoming the essential input supplier for African farmers. Optasia CEO Salvador Anglada unpacks how the group is making more than a billion credit decisions a month, facilitating $3.5 billion in
FirstRand’s Vilakazi cleans up after R17bn UK hit
FirstRand’s Vilakazi cleans up after R17bn UK hit Sep 10, 2026 00:29:48 In this episode, FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi unpacks results that look worse than they are. Reported earnings fell 5% after an R11.4 billion provision for the UK motor finance scandal, but strip that out and normalised earnings from continuing operations grew 13%, with return on equity at 24%. The UK business is being sold, and FirstRand is placing its next big bet on Optasia, a fintech platform t
Reserve Bank governor talks inflation, Iran and El Niño. And Shoprite brews a Vida deal
Reserve Bank governor talks inflation, Iran and El Niño. And Shoprite brews a Vida deal Sep 3, 2026 00:39:17 In this episode, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago joins Bruce to unpack what he calls a “polycrisis of overlapping shocks”, from the war in Iran to Ukraine’s attack on Russian wheat infrastructure and the looming El Niño threat to South African food prices. His message: South Africa’s starting point this time is fundamentally stronger than in 2022, and that breathing room is why the Reserve
One of these heavyweights runs Africa’s biggest telco. The other began with a bag of nuts 
One of these heavyweights runs Africa’s biggest telco. The other began with a bag of nuts  Aug 27, 2026 00:38:58 In this episode, MTN CEO Ralph Mupita joins Bruce to unpack a strong set of first-half results driven by Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, with R13.9 billion in dividends repatriated. Mupita addresses the R74 billion trademark lawsuit MTN dismisses as frivolous, the Iran investment it cannot exit because of US sanctions, and what it actually takes to operate profitably across 19 contested African
Jozi’s gold rush isn’t done. Plus: Jockey turns 150
Jozi’s gold rush isn’t done. Plus: Jockey turns 150 Aug 20, 2026 00:40:53 In this episode, DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius explains how the company extracts 1.93 grams of gold per tonne of mine-dump material, and why, at $4 000 an ounce, that amounts to R4.2 billion in profit, while simultaneously cleaning up Soweto’s dust problem and reversing a century-long environmental legacy. Bruce McMurray of Jockey South Africa speaks on keeping a 150-year-old underwear brand relevant

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