Media industry’s cautionary tale – why Iqbal Survé wants to end his Independent journey

Until his acquisition ten years ago of the South African assets of Irish Group Independent Media, Iqbal Survé was best known as the entrepreneur who had created the successful JSE-listed empowerment group Sekunjalo. Media ownership, however, has turned his reputation on its head. Even though Survé says the media business is only 3% of his group’s assets, it delivers 99% of the reputational headaches. In this in-depth interview with Alec Hogg of BizNews, Survé gives his side of a story that has taken on a life of its own – explaining why he is ready to hand over the baton of South Africa’s leading newspaper group.

Iqbal Survé on acquiring the Independent Media Group 

When we acquired the Independent Media Group, you raised the flag of caution and said to me, media is not for sissies. I would sort of caveat that and say the media in Africa, particularly, is not for sissies. Our society is polarised. People assume that when journalists and editors write their articles, it reflects the owner’s viewpoint, which is completely untrue. I have very little to do with the editor groupings in the organisation. In fact, Independent Media makes up less than 3% of our portfolio but it takes up 99% of our reputation. People don’t realise we are tech investors. We did well in the oil business and subsequently invested a lot of money in tech. Unfortunately, it is no longer a secret, but a good friend of mine revealed at a ceremony in Cape Town we are also shareholders in Tesla and other holdings.  

The success of Sekunjalo 

We started as an empowerment company and like all empowerment companies, we were opportunistic, but have had our ups and downs. Luckily, over time, more ups than downs and as an investor, we grew well. We built up a fairly big portfolio in what I call legacy businesses, the old businesses. Things changed around mid 2000, in particular when Sekunjalo became a WEF global growth company in 2007. That was big because the only other South African company that made it onto that list was Sasol. There were five African companies and we came in; not due to the South African portfolio but thanks to our investments in the oil business and our tech investments.  

On having run one of the largest private oil trading businesses in SA

We ran one of the largest private oil trading businesses in South Africa called Middle East, South Africa with offices in Dubai and Cape Town. That was very successful. Our biggest competitors at the time were Glencore, Vetal Energy and those guys. Oil supply is about securing the oil. It is not about pricing. If you can secure the right oil for the refineries, then you are in the game. 

Running a business in health tech

We have been out of the oil business for a long time, although some of my previous partners want to get back into it because the time is right. I’m not sure I want to be there anymore. My focus is tech. It is my passion. I’m looking at two areas in tech in particular. One is because of my background as a medical doctor. We own one of the largest health information systems technology companies. It has been around for 25 years and is very successful. It’s probably the only company in information systems that has saved government money and operates in both the private and public sector. It is profitable and has expanded into the Middle East, Nigeria and Kenya.  

Read also:

GoHighLevel
gohighlevel gohighlevel login gohighlevel pricing gohighlevel crm gohighlevel api gohighlevel support gohighlevel review gohighlevel logo what is gohighlevel gohighlevel affiliate gohighlevel integrations gohighlevel features gohighlevel app gohighlevel reviews gohighlevel training gohighlevel snapshots gohighlevel zapier app gohighlevel gohighlevel alternatives gohighlevel price
ZS Digital OrbitDigital Marketing AgencyAffordable Web Development