Naspers has directed its executive team to identify new investment opportunities in South Africa by the end of its 2026 financial year as part of its next strategic investment cycle, according to a report in the Sunday Times.
The global technology investor, which owns major South African platforms including Takealot, Mr D, Media24, AutoTrader and Property24, continues to prioritize building Takealot into the country’s dominant e-commerce player despite intensifying competition.
According to Naspers’ latest annual report, South Africa CEO Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa has been tasked with finalizing the local investment strategy by FY2026 while ensuring all potential deals receive proper evaluation. The company has significantly invested in Takealot’s growth, even as international competitors like Amazon enter the South African market.
Naspers and Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi explained the group’s current geographic priorities during a recent media briefing: “We are looking forward to finding investment opportunities in Africa. However my job as CEO is to prioritise and put more energy in a few best areas to make sure we have best in class in those areas.”
Bloisi revealed Prosus is currently concentrating on three key regions – Latin America, India and Europe – with plans to expand to other markets including Africa in the next investment cycle. He emphasized the company’s growing focus on artificial intelligence: “We want to invest specifically in AI, not only in Takealot. I believe we should have much more investment in training, developing, and education related to AI.”
The Takealot group, comprising Takealot.com and Mr D Food, reported a 20% revenue increase to $823 million (R14.7 billion) in its latest results, though it recorded a $12 million loss due to aggressive marketing and infrastructure spending.
Naspers expects the e-commerce platform to achieve profitability by full year 2026.
Prosus and Naspers CFO Nico Marais outlined the strategy for Takealot: “We will use the knowledge, the skills and the technology and the AI elements that we’ve built up through the rest of our portfolio, and share that with Takealot. We will also support it with the necessary capital that it might need to invest and to make its business even better.”
Investment experts note that while South Africa remains important to Naspers, it represents less than 1% of the group’s global valuation. Peter Takaendesa, CIO at Mergence Investment Managers, observed: “The Naspers team led by Mahanyele is fired up to grow in South Africa but they won’t grab the headlines at the Naspers group level given how small they are in the global investment portfolio.”
As Naspers prepares for its next investment phase, the company continues to optimize its South African portfolio, focusing on e-commerce growth while managing traditional media assets that face structural declines. The coming years will test whether Takealot can maintain its market leadership against well-funded international competitors while achieving sustainable profitability.
