How the search for solutions motivates ‘optimist’ Michael Jordaan
● Michael Jordaan, chair of Bank Zero and a tech-savvy entrepreneur, is continuing to invest in the burgeoning fintech sector in SA and sees the country’s problems as opportunities.
Jordaan conceded that there are issues in SA that get him down, but said: “I am an optimist by nature. Pessimists are right more often but optimists have more fun …
“There are many things about South Africa that do depress me as I know that we can grow the economy at 5% a year and create many jobs, if we are willing to take tough, future-oriented decisions. That being said, I prefer to do something about it, rather than point fingers.”
Jordaan said SA’s problems are “business opportunities too”. Solar power could help solve Eskom’s load-shedding woes and reduce costs, for example, and electronic textbooks are “less expensive than traditional textbooks and are never out of stock”.
He has invested in an e-textbook start-up, Snapplify, and in the Namola response app that connects consumers with emergency services and “helps in the fight against crime”. Along with FirstRand co-founder Paul Harris, he invested in solar power group BrightBlack more than five years ago.
“I’m obsessive about solving problems and believe that by supporting like-minded start-ups, I can make my biggest contribution to our country,” said Jordaan.
Investments that align with Jordaan’s focus on fintech include Bank Zero, which he co-founded and is due to launch in a few weeks. He has also invested in an asset management company, NMRQL, that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make investment decisions, and in a cryptocurrency index.
Fintech, or finance technology, refers to technology that automates financial services or brings a lot of functions online so customers can transact using computers or smartphones. It has particularly disrupted the financial services industry and banking.
Jordaan gained prominence during his 10-year tenure as FNB CEO, when he led the bank in a successful digital strategy. He stepped down from the job in 2013.
Not only did he drive new technology in that position, he was also one of the first CEOs to actively use social media such as Twitter to communicate with customers, sometimes responding directly to clients who had complaints to try to solve them.
Jordaan said the “fintech scene in South Africa is alive and well”, spanning the full range of products and services.
NMRQL, which Jordaan quipped is a “nerdy way of shortening ‘numerical’ ”, was started in 2015 by Thomas Schlebusch. The business “outperforms traditional asset management by crunching huge amounts of data” using AI algorithms, he said.
In 2019 Jordaan partnered with entrepreneur Earle Loxton to launch a cryptocurrency group called DCX Capital, which offers clients who open an account the opportunity to invest in the top 10 cryptocurrencies on its index, EasyCrypto 10.
Online trading platform EasyEquities, which is 70% owned by Purple Group, recently announced it is taking a 51% interest in DCX Capital. Jordaan, who does all his investments via his group Montegray Capital, is also a shareholder in Purple Group.
He is also a nonexecutive director at dataonly network operator rain, which was the first to introduce 5G in 2019.
Jordaan said he is gearing himself up for a dynamically changing world, adding that “data” is probably the “golden thread” joining new technologies and business models on the horizon.
“There will be many new technologies and new business models in the next decade, maybe more than the world created in the past five decades.”
Jordaan said it is important to keep an open mind about which ones will “experience explosive growth and to figure out how best to back them”.
He said rain, for instance, is rapidly rolling out its 5G network, adding that “fast, unlimited data will be the foundation for many new business opportunities”.
Fintech is one of the fastest-growing sectors in SA, but it requires a very specialised skill set, which is in short supply.
Jordaan said “development resources” are scarce, which is why he has also launched software training academy codeX, which offers a one-year coding programme that “trains and places bright youngsters”. He said codeX, which was started in 2014, “solves two of [SA’s] major challenges: youth unemployment and critical software development shortages”.
Accenture SA recently started sponsoring the programme, he said, “helping talented youngsters from disadvantaged areas obtain sought-after software skills”.