The Editor's Desk - Tue 20 Jan 2026: Naspers’ strategy shift, Davos disruptions, and the BEE backlash

In today’s Editor's Desk, Alec Hogg dives into the shifting tides at the World Economic Forum, where entrepreneur Fabricio Bloisi is redefining the Naspers/Prosus playbook. As the group pivots from selling Tencent shares to offloading underperforming assets, Alec asks the pointed question: is the South African media portfolio next on the chopping block?The episode also explores the "hostile takeover" of Davos by Donald Trump’s influence, Mariana Mazzucato’s scathing critique of current global power politics, and the questionable democratic outcomes in Uganda. Finally, Alec previews a fiery interview with Gerard Papenfuss of NEASA, who takes a direct swing at Minister Gwede Mantashe over the weaponization of BEE rhetoric..PS. You can book tickets for the post BNC#8 golf day sponsored by Shyft, by clicking here..Don't miss out on future episodes of The Editor's Desk. Subscribe to BizNews Premium and get the podcast delivered to your inbox daily..Listen here.Read the full transcript of The Editor's Desk podcast below.Today is Tuesday, the 20th of January 2026. I'm glad to have you with me.It’s been really interesting for me to follow what’s going on at the World Economic Forum, given that I have been there so many times. It was interesting to see Fabricio Bloisi appearing in the Bloomberg Studio this morning. He is the Chief Executive of Naspers and Prosus, and I thought he actually came across quite well. He's quite excitable; he is an entrepreneur, which makes him different from many of the highly polished CEOs who are trotted out in front of us on television screens. Indeed, he is a heck of a lot more authentic than most—if not all—of the politicians we are foisted with all the time. There were a few key takeaways from that. I did record it, so we’ll probably play a little bit tomorrow morning in Daybreak.What I found particularly interesting was his statement that they are starting to cut back on their share buyback programme funded by Tencent. He believes Tencent is a fabulous investment longer term, and he doesn’t really want to sell any more of those shares unless he has a very good reason. You might recall that the rationale for Prosus selling Tencent shares was to buy back more Prosus shares because they were at a deep discount. He said what is happening now is that they are selling non-core or underperforming companies within the Prosus stable—those that haven't got the same growth potential as Tencent—and using that money to buy back the shares in Prosus and Naspers.Of course, this raises a question that I wish I’d been the one to ask: they have this media asset in South Africa that hasn't performed anywhere close to what Tencent has achieved, yet they are holding onto it. Perhaps he is signalling that they will be selling this asset in due course. It sticks out like a sore thumb—News24 and the other operations in South Africa owned by Prosus. At some point, you have to wonder why they would sell more Tencent shares—the best company in China and arguably one of the best in the world—while holding onto an asset in South Africa that is effectively declining. They have no other media assets, so it doesn't make a lot of sense.Bloisi is an interesting guy. Originally from Brazil, he is an entrepreneur who started iFood, which is now the core operation for their food delivery venture. It was also interesting to hear him on Bloomberg earlier today, where he said he completely disagrees with the way the EU is forcing Prosus to sell Delivery Hero, which is now perceived to be in competition with their recent UK acquisition, Just Eat.The thing that really waved a flag for me is that if his authenticity is accurate, he has shown us that they will continue buying back shares by selling non-performing assets—which, to be fair, is pretty much the whole portfolio compared to Tencent. The one asset that truly sticks out there is the South African one.Other interesting news today: Elon Musk is in talks with Ryanair. Elon says he wants to buy the company. It will be interesting to see if that gets anywhere; Michael O'Leary is just as feisty as Elon, but who knows? Mr Musk always has a method behind his madness. It’s a bit like what we’ve been seeing from Donald Trump, who is shaking up Davos; he has literally staged a takeover. It hasn’t even been a hostile takeover; the World Economic Forum organisers, who ejected founder Klaus Schwab, have simply rolled over.It’s interesting to read commentators saying that in the past, it was quite fun for right-wing figures to shout about "globalists" and how Davos was an elitist club. Now, those are the guys who have actually taken over the place. Semafor suggested today that they might even get bored now that they are the insiders.Someone else who is not terribly happy with Davos right now is a lady I met there, Mariana Mazzucato. She is on the President’s Economic Advisory Council—one of the few foreigners on that council. She wrote books about how the state can assist in growing businesses, in which it should then have a stake to participate in the upside. It’s an unusual approach, but one that has caught the imagination of the Left. I was introduced to her by Ebrahim Patel, and she sat between myself and Pravin Gordhan. That gives you an indication of how highly she is regarded within the ANC.I’m not sure if she is in Davos at the moment, but she is a regular visitor. While she was once one of the superstar economists there, she is now very critical. She calls it "pure theatre" and sees a massive disconnect between Trump’s actions—citing Venezuela, Greenland, and Iran as examples of unilateral aggression—and the WEF’s theme of a "spirit of dialogue."Mariana says power politics and resource extraction are back in fashion, and that is what’s driving the agenda. It’s an excellent piece which is on BizNews today; I strongly recommend you read it. She explains why she believes the UK is a masterclass in how not to structure public-private partnerships, pointing fingers at Palantir on one hand and Thames Water/Macquarie on the other. You might not agree with everything she writes, but she certainly has a point of view worth considering.Also in the news this morning is a piece from the Platform for African Democrats. Greg Mills and Ray Hartley from the Brenthurst Foundation are instrumental in this organisation. We recently republished a piece they wrote after visiting the UNITA Congress, where they were quite supportive of the democratic process and leadership elections there. You don’t have to read much between the lines to see their view that UNITA will be a very strong contender in the next election. They secured 44% in the last poll. Remember, they were the Western-aligned side of the liberation struggle, whereas the winners, the MPLA, were aligned with the Soviets and Cuba.Anyway, they have been looking closely at the Ugandan election. Frankly, that is a joke. You have a man in his eighties who has run the place for decades and has "won" another election. Last time, he arrested his opponent. This time, a very popular politician known as Bobi Wine was predicted to win comfortably, yet the official poll showed numbers that beg belief.The reality is similar to Zimbabwe: when a strongman gets into power, they make sure they don't lose it. I would urge you to read Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari. Around the halfway mark, he discusses how democracy is understood in the West—where you vote and leave if you aren't any good—versus the developing world, where democracy is often used as an excuse for grabbing and keeping power.It’s a good piece on the Ugandan election from the Platform for African Democrats. You can hardly read it and maintain any respect for the governments currently congratulating the "winner."Finally, I suggest you read the piece from The Economist about Iran. We are keeping Iran on the front burner even though it has slipped off the main news cycle for the moment. The USS Abraham Lincoln and its escorting destroyers are on their way to the Persian Gulf from South Asia. That is a costly exercise; the Americans wouldn't do it if they intended to just twiddle their fingers following the recent unrest in Iran where thousands were killed and over 10,000 arrested. It is at boiling point, and The Economist has gone behind the scenes to explain exactly what is happening.To close, look out for my interview with Gerhard Papenfus, the Chief Executive of the National Employers' Association of South Africa (NEASA). They represent small and medium enterprises—mainly founder-led businesses. As you know, it is these entrepreneurs, not big companies, who grow the job pool. Gerhard has taken a very strong swing at Gwede Mantashe. I asked him, "Why Gwede?" He said it’s because Mantashe went on television to tell South Africans that anyone who criticises Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is simply trying to retain white privilege.Gerhard has launched a very strong response. I put him on the spot on several issues raised in his open letter, which we have published on BizNews. It makes for interesting listening.I’ll leave it there for today. Keep an eye on your Premium newsletter for links to our freshest content. Thank you for trusting us with your time. I’m Alec Hogg. Until tomorrow, cheerio.

The Editor's Desk - Tue 20 Jan 2026: Naspers’ strategy shift, Davos disruptions, and the BEE backlash

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