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Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

News24 47 Episodes Sep 23, 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

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
Boerie gets a glowup – and where do seized Lambos go? 
Boerie gets a glowup – and where do seized Lambos go?  Aug 13, 2026 00:32:06 In this episode, ENS head of forensics practice Steven Powell goes behind the scenes of asset forfeiture, using the Tembisa Hospital scandal to explain what actually happens after the cameras leave and the Lamborghinis have been seized, and why South Africa’s ability to secure convictions amid a Financial Action Task Force review matters more than most people realise. Neil Swart of the Belly Resta
The SA EdTech that beat Silicon Valley. Plus: Nedbank’s quiet comeback
The SA EdTech that beat Silicon Valley. Plus: Nedbank’s quiet comeback Aug 6, 2026 00:39:15 In this episode, Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn unpacks flat headline earnings that hide 12% underlying growth, explains the NCBA acquisition in Kenya and what it means for Nedbank’s African ambitions, and reads a South African banking landscape as being disrupted from every direction. Nick Miller of Teach Me 2 and Coachbit tells the story of building a tutoring platform from a UCT engineering dorm to TI
Is Woolworths quietly becoming an Edgars? Plus: The man reimagining Cape Town’s CBD
Is Woolworths quietly becoming an Edgars? Plus: The man reimagining Cape Town’s CBD Jul 30, 2026 00:34:12 In this episode, Murray Clark, co-founder and CEO of Neighbourgood, talks about The Acre at Golden Acre, converting Cape Town’s iconic 27-floor CBD office block into 417 apartments with flexible leases, co-working spaces and shared amenities. It’s a bold bet on city centre living and adaptive reuse done right.News24 Business editor Helena Wasserman unpacks a results-heavy week: Woolworths holding
A R21bn fintech empire hides inside Pepkor. Plus: The last old-school hotelier passes the keys
A R21bn fintech empire hides inside Pepkor. Plus: The last old-school hotelier passes the keys Jul 23, 2026 00:34:14 In this episode, Arthur Gillis, the last of the old-school hoteliers, reflects on 50 years in the industry, growing Protea Hotels from four properties to 116 across seven countries, negotiating its R2 billion sale to Marriott in 2014, and now handing the keys of Platinum Hospitality Holdings to his son Anton after deliberately leaving the room during the board process that appointed him. Patrick S
Amazon comes to South Africa from space. Plus: Mexican candy, market mayhem and PIC chaos
Amazon comes to South Africa from space. Plus: Mexican candy, market mayhem and PIC chaos Jul 16, 2026 00:34:16 In this episode, Bruce chats with Herotel CEO, Van Zyl Botha, about the partnership bringing Amazon Leo to South Africa, a satellite internet service that could finally connect farms, townships and rural communities where fibre has never reached. South Africa goes live in 2027. Claire Swanson of ARK Provisions tells the story of a sweet she tasted in Mexico that reminded her of corner shop treats
Bootlegger brews up expansion. Plus: SA’s demerit points disaster
Bootlegger brews up expansion. Plus: SA’s demerit points disaster Jul 9, 2026 00:30:38 This week, Bruce chats with Ricky Ruthenberg, CEO of Bootlegger Coffee Company, about building one of South Africa’s most recognisable coffee chains from a single Sea Point store in 2013 to 116 locations today – with 15 to 20 more planned before year’s end. Ruthenberg unpacks the two-model strategy, the cautious push into Namibia and Africa, and why the coffee revolution in South Africa is still f

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