Smart Money – ARC co-CEO Johan van Zyl shares his outlook for African Rainbow Capital

In the latest episode of Daily Investor’s new talk show, Smart Money, Alishia Seckam meets with African Rainbow Capital’s (ARC) Johan van Zyl to discuss the company’s future.

ARC is an investment holding company focusing on opportunities in the South African and African markets.

Van Zyl is the co-CEO and executive director of ARC and has over two decades of industry experience.

Johan started his career as an economist for the government and NAMPO, and joined the academic world in 1983, where he taught agricultural economics at the University of Pretoria.

In 1994 he left the university to serve as the World Bank’s coordinator of Rural Development. Two years later, at only 39, he became the youngest-ever Vice-chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria.

He joined the business world in 2001 when he became the Chief Executive Officer of the short-term insurance company Santam. Two years later, he became the head of the insurance company Sanlam.

He stepped down as Sanlam CEO in mid-2015 to become CEO of Ubuntu-Botho Investments and Co-CEO of African Rainbow Capital.

African Rainbow Capital has many prominent businesses in its stable, including mobile network Rain, TymeBank, Kropz Group, Afrimat, AlexForbes, A2X, Val de Vie, and Sanlam.

In today’s episode of Smart Money, Johan van Zyl discusses his journey from academia to the business world and unpacks the significant differences he has experienced between the two sectors.

Van Zyl then shares his motivations for joining ARC and explains how the company has remained positive despite the current economic climate.

He concludes by outlining his expectations for ARC’s short and medium-term growth and discussing the potential for future investments.

You can watch the full interview with Johan van Zyl below or on Spotify and Google Podcasts.