Smart Money – Naspers and Prosus Group President and Chief Investment Officer Ervin Tu

In this Smart Money with Alishia Seckam interview, Ervin Tu discusses Naspers’ and Prosus’ impressive financial performance.

Tu is the Group President and Chief Investment Officer at Naspers and Prosus. He joined the companies in August 2021 and has played a critical role in helping the two companies reach new heights.

In his role as Chief Investment Officer, Tu is responsible for leading investments across both Naspers and Prosus.

He has done an excellent job in this role, reflected in the large growth these companies have achieved over the past 18 months.

Tu also served as Prosus Interim CEO after former CEO Bob van Dijk’s departure in September 2023, and held this role until incoming CEO Fabricio Bloisi took the reins in July 2024.

Key to his success at Naspers and Prosus is his excellent blend of investment track record, sector knowledge, and dealmaking experience.

Before taking on his current role, Tu was a Managing Partner at the SoftBank Vision Fund, leading investments in companies like Uber and Bytedance.

He also has strong knowledge across industries as diverse as transportation, logistics, next-generation media, and sustainability. 

Tu boasts extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, having played a key role in this area at both SoftBank Group International and Goldman Sachs.

His industry experience is backed up by a strong education. Tu holds a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

The interview

In this Smart Money with Alishia Seckam interview, Tu explains how Naspers and Prosus have turned a corner and achieved excellent financial results.

He discusses how his leadership roles at Goldman Sachs and SoftBank prepared him for his responsibilities at Naspers and Prosus – where no two days are the same.

Tu then explains why he believes Naspers’ and Prosus’ impressive performance over the past 18 months will continue.

He also discusses how the company is approaching the latest technologies – like AI, FinTech, and health technology.

He then discusses Naspers and Prosus’ relationship with Tencent and the value of Tencent’s share buyback scheme to shareholders.

Tu reveals why the Prosus spinoff and cross-shareholding were the right decisions – even though they created additional complexity in the short term.

He concludes the interview by providing insight into what shareholders can expect from Naspers and Prosus in the coming years.

Watch the full interview with Ervin Tu, below.