On Monday South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that South Africa’s richest families the Rupert and Oppenheimer families had each contributed R1 billion to assist small businesses and their employees affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Today the Motsepe family has contributed R1 billion ($57mn). See full statement below.



The Motsepe Family in partnership with companies and organisations that they are associated with, have pledged R1 billion to assist with the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its related challenges that are confronting South Africa and the African Continent.



These companies and organisations are:  Motsepe Foundation  Sanlam  African Rainbow Capital (ARC)  African Rainbow Minerals (ARM)  and others



The Founder and Chairman of the Motsepe Foundation, Dr Patrice Motsepe said: “Several hundred million rands will immediately be made available with the primary objective of saving lives and slowing and restraining the spread of the Coronavirus. We are purchasing sanitisers, disinfectants, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and are in discussions with Government, health workers and other stakeholders to assist with acquiring other equipment and making resources available which are essential for dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. We’ve been advised that access to water for regularly washing hands is crucial for slowing and limiting the spread of the Coronavirus. We are therefore providing water to poor rural and urban communities by purchasing water tanks (jojos), drilling and equipping for borehole water and also building sanitary facilities. The current lockdown has an impact on the goods, equipment and services that can be purchased immediately and the goods and services which can be provided when the lockdown has been terminated. Our short to medium term interventions include building additional classrooms, computer centers and laboratories in all the 9 provinces of South Africa to assist with the excessively high number of students per classroom in some schools; particularly in the context of the current Coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing requirements.



Those schools in the poor rural and urban areas which do not have internet access or facilities will be assisted with study guides, scientific calculators, dictionaries and other educational equipment and facilities identified in consultation with the Department of Basic Education, school principals and teachers. Poor and underdeveloped communities are ill-prepared to deal with the serious challenges and consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic and are in dire need of our assistance and contributions. We are committed to contribute to the provision of quality education, infrastructure and other facilities to better prepare and equip them to deal with future pandemics or catastrophes.”



We will be working in partnership with:  traditional leaders, kings, queens and their communities that we have been working with for the past 20 years;  the 34 Religious and Faith-Based organisations that participate in the annual Motsepe Foundation National Day of Prayer;  National, Provincial and Local Government authorities;  Trade Union and other Worker Representative organisations;  NGOs and other local community representative organisations;  sport organisations and entities;  local, provincial and national business and professional organisations;  black and white farmers and their representative organisations; and  other organisations or structures that can assist or partner with us in dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic.



The CEO of Sanlam Ian Kirk said: “Sanlam has a rich history of always putting our people, our clients and our country first; hence our mantra of ‘Doing well, by doing Good’. Today, we’re proud of the partnership with the Motsepe Family and its associated companies. We believe these efforts will make a meaningful contribution not only towards fighting the Coronavirus, but also in developing the long-term sustainability of South Africans, particularly in poor and rural areas. Periods of profound uncertainty like these call for us to come together to support all the prudent actions that contain the scourge of this virus and its impact on our already fragile economy.”



The CEO of ARC Dr Johan van Zyl said: “As a nation we are in unchartered waters in terms of the scale and danger that the COVID19 pandemic presents to South Africans. It is now time for each and everyone of us to demonstrate leadership and help. ARC is a fairly young company with limited financial resources. Yet, it remains important that we make a contribution. In this regard we are partnering with companies and organisations with which we have common interests and share common values to ensure that the positive impact we aim to make is felt.” We have been in contact with various Ministers and MECs and will also be in contact with the Government’s Coronavirus Solidarity Fund to identify specific initiatives and projects where we can partner and work together. There may be upliftment and developmental undertakings where they are better positioned than we are, in which case we may fund or donate with them on a particular project or partnership.



We want to thank Government for their leadership and cooperation including health workers, police, soldiers, as well as Religious and Faith-Based organisations, traditional leaders, trade union and other worker representative organisations, NGOs and other rural and urban organisations. We also want to thank business and in particular the Rupert and Oppenheimer families, the employees, boards and stakeholders of the companies that the Motsepe Family is associated with, for their assistance and contributions in dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic.



South Africans have a history of uniting and working together when confronted with major and enormous challenges. We are confident that South Africa will in the medium to long term overcome the life-threatening and economic challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and continue to build a bright and inclusive future for the people of South Africa and the African continent.

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Motsepe Family & Associates Join Rupert And Oppenheimer Families In Donating R1 billion To Deal With COVID-19 Pandemic

Lessons And Ideas By The 100 Greatest Living Business Minds

With billionaire mining magnate Patrice Motsepe at the helm, the newly crowned African champions Mamelodi Sundowns are not short of resources.
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Adding up all the presumed transfer fees and estimated running costs over the 13 years since he took ownership, Motsepe has invested more than R150 million ($11 million) in the club, a sum far in excess of what any other owner, among the 16 teams that make up South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL), has put into the game.
The money took a long time to show any kind of return but Sundowns, ironically after a round of recent belt-tightening, can now look to run their operation independently after the windfall of their recent success.
Winning the African Champions League in October has ensured record earnings for the Pretoria-based club, although Motsepe is giving a fair chunk of it to his players as a bonus for their achievement.
In the Champions League, Sundowns took home a purse of $1.5 million for winning – by far the biggest sum the club has ever earned from a single competition. That is, indeed, true of any South African team.
The biggest prize in the domestic game is the R10 million ($750,000) that the winners of the league earn.
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The Champions League purse is to be shared among the players, said Motsepe in the wake of their success in Egypt, where Sundowns overcame hostile conditions in a display of resilience to win the title – only the second time in 21 years that a South African club has done so.
It is the biggest achievement in club football on the continent and brings with it a raft of other opportunities.
First, Champions League success means participation in the Fifa Club World Cup in Japan at the end of the year.
The competition, featuring all the continental champions, also offers prize money with a minimum of $1 million just for participating and going up to $5 million for the winner.
But unlike the Champions League campaign, where the cost of traveling through Africa can be onerous, Fifa pay all costs, including supplying 35 business class return tickets to Japan per club.
Another $1 million would be well received, although the costs of South African football are such now that it is pretty swiftly shredded through.
Not three months ago, Sundowns paid R11 million ($820,000) to sign silky midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi from Bidvest Wits; a record fee for an internal move in the South African market. They also bought players from Bloemfontein Celtic and Free State Stars, and imported a striker from the Ivory Coast in a bid to strengthen their squad for a rigorous campaign to come.
To do so, the club has to get extra funding from Motsepe.
It is not just for the transfer fees, but the wages needed to lure these players to the club as well.
Bafana Bafana fullback Anele Ngcongca had opportunities to stay in Europe when it became clear he would leave Belgian side Genk, and also attracted interest from the lucrative Chinese Super League. But he has been lured to Pretoria with the promise of not only competing for silverware, but also a hefty pay-packet as he heads towards his thirties.
No PSL club survives on the monthly income of R1.5 million ($100,000) that they receive as their share of the television deal that broadcaster SuperSport agreed to for the next five years.
With attendances declining, gate receipts are for many clubs no longer a revenue source. They lose money on the costs associated with match days, such as security, stewarding and ground rental.
For many clubs, surviving without a benevolent owner with big pockets depends on the ability to develop and then sell players. Some have made it a useful enterprise and keep their heads above water, ensuring survival but effectively losing their ability to be truly competitive.
Free State Stars have an uncanny ability to find quality players at no cost and then sell them on at a healthy profit. Ajax Cape Town, with their extensive youth network, is another ‘selling’ club.
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As is the trend internationally, emphasized by the rise to the winners’ podium of Manchester City and their Abu Dhabi investors in England or the Qatari cash that has made Paris Saint-Germain the runaway power in France, so the South African league too is fast becoming a lopsided arena.
It was no accident that last season’s top two finishers – Sundowns and Wits – are owned by tycoons with a passion for the game. The growing rivalry between Motsepe and Wits owner Brian Joffe is set to continue this season.
Perennial challengers like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are increasingly unable to compete for the best talent – both coaching and player wise. It was not by accident that last season was the first time in almost 50 years of professional football in South Africa that neither of the well-supported Soweto giants won a single trophy.
They will remain competitive while their revenue stream, from sponsorship and replica shirt deals, is strong but that they are no longer the ‘big bulls in the kraal’ is all too evident.
SuperSport United, with the backing of MultiChoice, could grow into the third power in the South African game but do not have the largesse and impulsive ability to strike in the marketplace that both Sundown and Wits possess.
Sundowns’ new-found status and confidence gives them the sporting impetus to continue achieving. The bedrock of Motsepe’s cheque book remains a firm foundation but it helps they are also contributing to the coffers with their success.
The trick for them is to ensure that success of the last two years, which has also seen them win the domestic league title and the Telkom Knockout cup competition, continues for the next few years.
They are best placed to create a dynasty and become goliath in their own league, just like Lyon in the French Ligue 1 who claimed their domestic title for seven consecutive years in early 2000, or Paris Saint-Germain, who have won the last four.
Sundowns’ Champions League success this year could be the start of a period of dominance the rest of the league will be powerless to break.

Wealthy And Healthy

Africa billionaires are lining up to put their money where their mouth is in the fight against Ebola.
At least five FORBES AFRICA cover millionaires are putting up to $50 million to fight the disease. It’s being seen as Africa solving its
own problems.
The millionaires include: Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group; Strive Masiyiwa, the Founder and Chairman of global telecommunications group Econet Wireless; Patrice Motsepe, the Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals; Jim Ovia, Chairman and Co-Founder of Zenith Bank and Mohammed Dewji, the CEO of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited.
The fund, called the Business-to-Rescue Fund, was launched on November 8  at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, the first meeting between the AU and the Africa’s private sector.
“Africa is becoming conscious of synergies that exist between entrepreneurship and development and Econet Wireless Group has been involved in the fight against Ebola as early as April,” says Masiyiwa.
Masiyiwa said business was affected by everything that threatens life in the African economy.
“Our focus is the economy and well-being of our generation. The African people will not allow Ebola to persist like the HIV/Aids pandemic.”
Kola Karim, the Managing Director and CEO of Shoreline Energy International, says leading billionaires have set up a benchmark fund of between $30 million to $50 million.
“It’s unfortunate that the Ebola has caused this much pain without a quick response both from governments and businesses. It is the responsibility of the governments and the private sector to make interventions when serious problems like Ebola attack the region,” says Karim.
Political analyst at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for the Study of Democracy, Gideon Chitanga, says entrepreneurs are playing a role of corporate social responsibility.
“Africa has seen a surge in the number of billionaires in the past decade and it is time that these billionaires start giving back to communities where they are generating their wealth from,” says Chitanga.

Forbes Millionaires  Shell Out  To Stop Ebola

PRECIOUS GOES GLOBAL

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu—this age-old Zulu proverb explains the spirit of ubuntu; translated it reads “A person is a person through others” but many paraphrase it to “I am because we are”.
You’ll find Ubuntu in any close-knit community where neighbors help each other with anything from sharing sugar and bread to babysitting and mourning. Ubuntu in business is called philanthropy. The Latin origins of the word means the love of humankind; the desire to promote the welfare of others, mostly, through the generous donation of money to good causes.
In a historic press event in a plush Sandton hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa’s richest black man, Patrice Motsepe announced that he and his wife, Precious, would donate half of their family fortune to philanthropic causes during their lifetime and beyond.
The room was full, from clergymen and traditional leaders to South African businesses’ top brass as well as ministers and union leaders. Among them were Pamodzi CEO, Ndaba Ntsele; Jessica Motaung, daughter of Kaizer Chiefs FC owner Kaizer Motaung; chairman of Shell SA, Bonang Mohale; Zulu nation Monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini; basic education minister, Angie Motshekga and Archbishop Tutu’s daughters to name a few.
<div id="attachment_7" style="width: 209px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-7" class="size-medium wp-image-7" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/280-261_1-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" />Patrice Motsepe, Johannesburg; 19 August 2011 &#8211; Photo by Brett Eloff</div>
“We want to build a track record where ordinary South Africans feel we’re making a humble contribution,” says the 8th richest African.
He assured the audience that he would make sure his children continued the tradition.
The move put the Motsepes on a list of elites who have pledged to give a majority of their wealth to philanthropy. They are the first Africans to join the Giving Pledge, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010. Today, it has nearly 100 members including New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg; world-famous designer, Diane von Furstenberg; Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg and PayPal co-founder, Elon Musk.
Is this pledge a new trend in business or just an age-old tradition of ubuntu under a new light?
This is not the Motsepes’ first contribution, in 1999 they started the Motsepe Foundation, which to date has donated around R40-R50 million ($4.5-5.6 million) to business development. Last year alone they gave R20 million ($2.3 million) to major churches in South Africa. They say this move is just an acceleration of what they’ve established.
While the Motsepes have had a lucky turn of fortune, it wasn’t always that way.
“There were times when we had nothing… When I came back from America we had so many loans that we couldn’t pay our children’s school fees [and] we had to send them to good schools. But there was always belief because we come from parents who succeeded during the years when there was no black economic empowerment,” says Motsepe.
But many ask themselves whether other African entrepreneurs and companies will follow in Motsepe’s footsteps.
Philip Fauré, head of Citadel Philanthropy Advisors, says there are many wealthy entrepreneurs who are philanthropists but prefer to remain under the radar.
“Africans are more private than Americans,” says Fauré.
He also says that they avoid requests for money and security risks by doing things privately. However, he is quick to emphasize the difference between philanthropy and charity by using a fishing analogy—philanthropy is teaching one how to fish.
“Charity is never going to go away; aid is not the solution,” says Fauré.
He also says that philanthropy is a major industry worldwide, mostly in the States. He hopes that more prominent South African families will give publically.
There are a number of other African billionaires who are active philanthropists.
In 2012 alone, Johann Rupert, the third richest African and CEO of luxury goods group Richemont, gave his R3.6 million ($406,700) annual salary to charity. The Oppenheimers—the second richest family in Africa—donated R1 billion ($112.9 million) to support education in South Africa. In Nigeria, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, gave away around $35 million and Zenith Bank founder, Jim Ovia, gave away an estimated $6.6 million. And Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, gave away around $6.4 million.
According to wealth management company Galileo Capital, if Motsepe plans to give away half of his wealth—bearing in mind his current net worth of $2.65 billion, interest and inflation—he will give away around $40 million annually to his philanthropic missions.

Tag: Patrice Motsepe

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Motsepe Family & Associates Join Rupert And Oppenheimer Families In Donating R1 billion To Deal With COVID-19 Pandemic

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