Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week

In this episode, Bruce talks to Warren Myers, CEO and one of the founders of AURA, a South African emergency response platform that connects users to the nearest private security or medical responders. Companies like Uber and FNB uses AURA to offer their clients emergency support in South Africa, and it also has operations in the UK and other African countries. After a recent R270 million investment in the company, it is now making a big push into the US, where its service is currently being rolled out in 12 major US cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, and Seattle. Also on the programme is Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA. He explains how the US move to exempt key foods from import tariffs will help SA. Following Nvidia’s surprisingly strong results on Wednesday, Deon Gouws, chief investment officer at Credo Group, makes the case why Warren Buffett and other doubters may be wrong about AI. Also discussed on the programme: a report that Pep may be partnering with Investec to build a bank; why Black Friday 2025 may turn out to be a reality check; how Telkom is eating its competitors’ prepaid lunch and US attempts to strong-arm SA at the G20. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram gives tips on how to build wealth. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple, and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity Services Group, South Africa’s largest private security company with 70 000 employees. Bartmann talks about why the group wants to list on the JSE next year, and the importance of the SA security sector, which has attracted a number of former rugby players — including himself. TymeBank chief technology officer Dieter Botha gives his view on how artificial intelligence will play out in coming years, and which jobs may be safe. Jean Pierre Verster, founder and CEO of Protea Capital Management, gives his views on the investment case for Vodacom, Premier, Stor-Age and Raubex. Also discussed on the programme: SA’s fiscal state, and a surprising twist in the “Please Call Me” saga. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram explains how shares work. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Tyme’s new CEO, Cheslyn Jacobs, who strikes a defiant tone toward the big players in the market. Also on the show is the CEO of Yaga CEO Aune Aunapuu, who started the online second-hand clothing marketplace in 2017. It launched in South Africa five years ago, which is now its biggest market, with annual revenue growth of 80%.Meryl Pick, Old Mutual Investment Group Head of Equities Research, gives her view on how Pepkor’s fintech push is paying off. She also talks about Optasia, the newly JSE-listed Dubai-based fintech firm, and trade tensions between the US and China. Also discussed on the programme: how Canal+ plans to save DStv, the botched process to appoint a new Gautrain operator, and welcome changes to the planned Transformation Fund. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers about the “extraordinary response” he received after his public criticism of online betting. 
Summers also discusses Pick n Pay’s succession plans as it progresses in its “reset” from a troubled past, and targets break-even by 2028.

Chantal Marx, head of investment research and content at FNB Wealth and Investments, gives her view on whether the loss-making retailer will be able to achieve this target. She also looks at the share price crash in WeBuyCars, as well as this week’s mixed fortunes of the world’s biggest tech groups.

Also on the show is the CEO of Optasia, the Dubai-based fintech firm that has shot into the spotlight as it prepares for a JSE listing next week.

FirstRand just took a 20% stake in the group, with Salvador Anglada discussing the group’s partnerships with various local companies. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Bertina Engelbrecht, CEO of Clicks, SA’s biggest pharmacy retailer. She details the group’s strong shift to private-label goods, generic medicines and exclusive products, and its strategy to cater for shoppers who range from low-income to “LSM 10-plus”. 

Also on the show is Derek Szabo, outgoing group CEO of Signal Hill Products Group, which owns beer brands like Devil’s Peak, and which was part of a group that bought Strongbow cider from Heineken. The company has just invested in a multibillion-rand new brewery in Gauteng. He talks about how the group managed to survive after many other craft-beer makers imploded in recent years.  

Markets legend David Shapiro of Sasfin gives his views on the violent correction in the gold price this week, as well as how South African consumers are shaping up. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth.

In this episode, Bruce talks to the CEO of the discount retailer Boxer, Marek Masojada, about being with the business for more than 30 years, from when it only had five stores. Now at 500 stores, the group is still expanding - and eyeing next year’s final scrapping of exclusivity clauses in South African malls. Bruce also gets food startup tips from Kathleen Quillinan, who founded the successful food brand Pesto Princess 25 years ago. Since mortgaging the family house to build a factory, she is now slowly getting ready to exit the business, but first has big ambitions of something she wants to achieve. Schalk Louw, portfolio manager and strategist at PSG Wealth, gives his insights into a brand-new big food-sector deal that could see the owner of Blue Ribbon and Snowflake buy the owner of Bull Brand. He also talks gold. Certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. Also on the show: Why SA CFOs (especially women) are getting a big pay bump, and the fallout of the US-China trade war. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Bernard Swanepoel, former Harmony Gold CEO and chairperson of the Joburg Indaba, about why South Africa - the world’s premier mining country - now find itself under-explored. They also highlight some of the green shoots that are seen in the local sector, and Swanepoel talks about the surge in gold prices. Bruce also speaks to Steve Brookes, CEO and founder of the JSE-listed property developer Balwin Properties, about South Africa’s padel craze - and whether money can still be made from it. Jean Pierre Verster, founder and CEO of Protea Capital Management, gives his insights into a new listing heading to the JSE and a few other shares that made headlines this week, while certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. This podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce asks Capitec CEO Graham Lee whether the group is still a bank - given that it is making much more money from fees, phones, and insurance than from earning interest. Lee talks about Capitec’s plans for the future, and about the dangers of ego as it challenges its rivals in terms of size and profitability. Bruce also speaks to Greig Jansen, CEO and founder of PURA, the low-sugar South African cooldrink brand. Backed by a new R260-million investment, the group wants to make a bigger push into the US - despite the tariff war. Meryl Pick, Old Mutual Investment Group Head of Equities Research, gives her insights into the retail sector, while certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. The podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.

In this episode, Bruce talks to Remgro CEO Jannie Durand about the road ahead for the proposed merger with Vodacom’s fibre assets, the strong performance of Mediclinic and OUTsurance, the British American Tobacco disposal that signalled the end of an era, and the state of SA’s economy. 

He also speaks to Fieldbar founder Lee Hartman about how their locally made, luxury, handmade coolers are shooting the lights out on the global market — and why production has remained in SA.
Deon Gouws, chief investment officer at Credo gives his insights into the markets, while certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. 

The podcast is sponsored by Capitec.

In this episode, Bruce Whitfield looks at the latest interest rate decisions - and why the US may be courting disaster by repeating a mistake from almost a century ago. He speaks to OUTsurance Group CEO Marthinus Visser about how the insurer made a successful strategic pivot years ago, after a future of self-driving cars caused internal panic. How did Stellenbosch become one of the world’s leaders in space technology? Mike-Alec Kearney is the founder of Cube Space, which has built thousands of satellite components that are now orbiting earth. He explains how local maths and engineering graduates are helping SA win in the global space race. Anchor CEO Peter Armitage gives his insights into the markets, while certified financial planner Warren Ingram shares practical tips on building wealth. The podcast is sponsored by Capitec. To catch every episode of Bruce Whitfield’s Business Week, click the follow and subscribe buttons on News24’s Spotify, Apple and YouTube podcast channels. Editions drop on Thursdays at 17:00.