Only two of South Africa’s most valuable companies were founded after 1994, and zero since BEE became law
An analysis of South Africa’s most valuable companies showed that only two were founded after 1994, and none since BEE became law in 2004.
For this analysis, Daily Investor considered South Africa’s most valuable companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The aim was to see how many new companies were started in South Africa which created significant employment and shareholder value.
As such, we removed the companies which were created through unbundlings, mergers, and associated black empowerment deals.
This is because these unbundlings and mergers did not create additional employment opportunities. In many cases, they reduced employment.
They include Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, FirstRand, AngloGold Ashanti, Kumba Iron Ore, Sibanye-Stillwater, and Exxaro Resources.
AngloGold Ashanti, for example, was formed in 2004 through the merger of AngloGold and Ghana’s Ashanti Goldfields Company.
AngloGold has its roots in the Vaal Reefs Exploration and Mining Company in South Africa, which was incorporated in 1944.
To state that AngloGold Ashanti is a new company started in 2004 does not accurately reflect the reality. The same goes for the other mining giants.
Another example is Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, which was officially formed in 2010 following the merger of Metropolitan Holdings and the Momentum Group.
Metropolitan was founded in 1898 in Cape Town as African Homes Trust, and Momentum in 1966 in Johannesburg.
So, although the new holding company, now known as Momentum Group Limited, was founded in 2010, it is not a new company.
South Africa’s top companies founded after 1994
The data showed that, using the criteria listed above, South Africa has produced only two companies on the JSE’s most valuable list since 1994: OUTsurance and Capitec.
OUTsurance was co-founded by entrepreneurs Willem Roos, Howard Aron, and René Otto and officially launched on 28 February 1998.
Capitec was co-founded by Michiel Le Roux, Riaan Stassen, and Jannie Mouton, and officially launched on 1 March 2001.
If one looks at the largest companies in the United States, it is in stark contrast to what has happened in South Africa.
4 of the Top 10 companies in the United States, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook), and Tesla, were founded after 1994.
This showed that South Africa did not fully participate in the technology revolution, which fuelled the United States market over the last 30 years.
It is also worth noting that in the 30 years before 1994, South Africa produced 17 companies in the Top 40. After 1994, it only produced two.
No top companies were created after Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) became law in South Africa in 2004.
This may be explained by the fact that companies take time to become major players in fields like banking, retail, and many others.
Another factor which could have contributed is that the focus was on facilitating BEE deals rather than creating new companies.
Renowned political economist Moeletsi Mbeki argues that BEE does not generate new economic value, create new factories, or build wealth from scratch.
A major consequence of the BEE framework, according to Mbeki, is that it actively discourages young black professionals from becoming genuine entrepreneurs.
Instead of building enterprises from the ground up, the system creates a culture of entitlement where individuals expect a free ride via corporate equity transfers.
“It sent the message that you don’t have to build your own business. You don’t have to take a risk. The whites will give you a job and shares in their company,” he said.
South Africa’s top companies
| Company Name | Year Founded |
| Old Mutual | 1845 |
| Aspen Pharmacare | 1850 |
| Standard Bank | 1862 |
| Gold Fields | 1887 |
| Nedbank | 1888 |
| Naspers | 1915 |
| Anglo American | 1917 |
| Sanlam | 1918 |
| Tiger Brands | 1921 |
| Woolworths | 1931 |
| Harmony Gold | 1950 |
| Sasol | 1950 |
| Pepkor | 1965 |
| Impala Platinum | 1966 |
| Mondi | 1967 |
| Pick n Pay | 1967 |
| Clicks | 1968 |
| Remgro | 1968 |
| Glencore | 1974 |
| Investec | 1974 |
| Northam Platinum | 1977 |
| Shoprite | 1979 |
| Absa | 1986 |
| Growthpoint Properties | 1987 |
| Rand Merchant Investment | 1987 |
| Bidvest Group | 1988 |
| Discovery | 1992 |
| MTN | 1993 |
| Vodacom | 1993 |
| OUTsurance | 1998 |
| Capitec Bank | 2001 |
South Africa’s top companies: Mergers and unbundlings
| Company Name | Year Founded | Creation |
| Anglo American Platinum | 1995 | Unbundling |
| Bid Corporation | 1995 | Unbundling |
| FirstRand | 1998 | Merger |
| AngloGold Ashanti | 2004 | Merger |
| Exxaro Resources | 2006 | Unbundling |
| Kumba Iron Ore | 2006 | Unbundling |
| Momentum Metropolitan Holdings | 2010 | Merger |
| Sibanye-Stillwater | 2013 | Unbundling |
| Valterra Platinum | 2025 | Unbundling |
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