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When the pugnacious apartheid crumbled, the corporate sector expected a black-led democratic government. This, indeed, came to pass. The next hurdle to redress was what to do with the millions of black people on the periphery of the economy. So, black economic empowerment (BEE) became the preferred solution pursued by the ANC government.Since the policy came into effect, it has polarised our society. Some of its beneficiaries have sought to distance themselves from it, while its critics have been unrelenting in trying to roll it back.One of the biggest beneficiaries of the policy has undoubtedly been Patrice Motsepe, rumoured to harbour presidential ambitions under the ANC banner.Those who have worked closely with Motsepe share a similar experience of the man: a consummate businessman who is results-oriented and intolerant of incompetence. Executives serving at his pleasure are forever under pressure to be on top of issues, knowing that reports to him are thoroughly interrogated. Some credit this to Motsepe’s corporate law training and the attention to detail that comes with it, while others say it is his sheer will to succeed.At face value, the contract between Sanlam and Motsepe’s Ubuntu-Botho was ahead of its time, having been forged before BEE codes were introducedHis successes since the early 2000s have at times been polarising: critics have reduced his business exploits to his links to the ANC and its senior leaders or simply to BEE policies pursued by the party since it took over power in 1994.Others claim Motsepe’s business exploits are evidence of what transformation can look like if BEE is implemented as initially intended.The numbers tell their own story. One of Motsepe’s largest investments is his stake in Sanlam – which he took ownership of in 2004 and which is still regarded as one of the country’s most successful broad-based BEE (B-BBEE) transactions.At face value, the contract between Sanlam and Motsepe’s Ubuntu-Botho was ahead of its time, having been forged before BEE codes were introduced. The deal was initiated in 2004 to comply with the Financial Services Charter, which at the time had direct ownership targets of 10% and indirect ownership targets of 25%.The transaction has since gone from strength to strength, with Ubuntu-Botho emerging as the single largest shareholder of the group.( Nolo Moima) Before the Sanlam deal, Motsepe’s entities in 2003 struck significant BEE deals in the mining sector, chief among them the Harmony/ARMGold deal. The merger of Harmony and ARMGold, in a deal worth R4.9bn, was transformational. This was hailed as one of the most important empowerment deals of South Africa’s first decade of democracy, a microeconomic reflection of the country’s political miracle of 1994Through this deal, Harmony fully acquired the Freegold operations. On October 1 2003 Motsepe was appointed chairman — a position he still holds.The appetite of the Motsepe empire has grown greatly over the years. In 2025, he established African Rainbow Capital (ARC), a group with significant scale focusing on opportunities in South African and African financial services and diversified investments. One of ARC’s significant investments is its stake in Alexforbes, GoTyme and Rain. Having identified Alexforbes as a key investment, ARC wasted little time in ringing leadership changes and a pivot in strategy.Dawie de Villiers took over the reins at Alexforbes in November 2018, leaving the stability and notable success he had had as CEO of Sanlam Employee Benefits to put out fires at Alexforbes in the most difficult period in its history.ARC misgivings about the strategy pursued by Darfoor were that it had suffocated the share price, with returns to shareholders not forthcoming. And as in many cases where the CEO does not see eye to eye with a top shareholder, it is the former who jumps or gets pushedHis predecessor, Andrew Darfoor, had an acrimonious exit after falling out with key shareholder ARC over the strategy the group was pursuing. ARC’s Johan van Zyl tore into Darfoor’s “Ambition 2022″ strategy, which focused on driving growth through expanding its retail business segment alongside expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa through selective bolt-on acquisitions.Van Zyl, credited with turning around Sanlam’s fortunes during his CEO tenure, was clear to Darfoor: get out of capital-intensive areas such as insurance (both life and general), where the group did not have scale, and focus on advice and distribution as its core revenue streams.ARC misgivings about the strategy pursued by Darfoor were that it had suffocated the share price, with returns to shareholders not forthcoming. And as in many cases where the CEO does not see eye to eye with a top shareholder, it is the former who jumps or gets pushed.The group’s share price under Darfoor fell about 14%, with return on equity coming in at 10% and under.In stepped De Villiers, who wasted little time in taking to market a refreshed strategy anchored on moving the business away from capital-intensive ventures and divesting from some businesses that were no longer aligned with the revised strategy.The strategy, launched in March 2019, reaffirmed Alexforbes’ strength as a trusted adviser to its clients with a renewed focus on the core businesses of consulting, administration and investments. De Villiers quickly disposed of the insurance business to Momentum for nearly R2bn. The group also transitioned the Alexforbes-sponsored umbrella fund to private administration.The company’s share has reacted in kind, up more than 90% in the past five years, with the group valued at R10bn on the JSE. It has maintained its No 1 position as SA’s leading investments multimanager with more than R600bn in total assets, nearly double the 2018 number.Business Times
