Cy Jacobs flips BEE script: 22% of 36ONE goes to educate SA’s forgotten youth

In an unprecedented empowerment deal, 36ONE Asset Management co-founder and director Cy Jacobs has partnered with the Maharishi Invincibility Institute, donating 22% of the firm's equity to fund free tertiary education for thousands of South Africa's most disadvantaged youth. Speaking to Alec Hogg, Jacobs explains why this “pure empowerment initiative"—focusing on education rather than elite enrichment—represents a new model for BEE. Maharishi's Darren Kramer calls the transaction a “game-changer”, with dividends from 36ONE set to sustain the university's mission to turn poverty into opportunity for generations to come..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.BizNews Reporter.When people talk about transformation in South Africa, the conversation usually drifts to the same tired frustrations. BEE deals that make a handful of insiders rich while doing little to change the lives of ordinary citizens. For Cy Jacobs, co-founder of 36ONE Asset Management, that was never the point. If empowerment was going to mean anything, it had to touch real people. Not the politically connected few, but the many South Africans still locked out of opportunity.Speaking to Alec Hogg on BizNews, Jacobs revealed that 36ONE has concluded a pioneering empowerment transaction that will see 22% of the company’s equity go to the Maharishi Institute, a non-profit university in Johannesburg that provides free tertiary education to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The deal, Jacobs says, is about aligning profit with purpose and building something that will last long after the headlines fade.“It’s a pure initiative,” he said. “We weren’t happy with doing a BEE deal that enriched a certain number of people or party. We wanted to do something consistent with our ethos around South Africa and giving back.”Turning empowerment into educationJacobs and his team have been exploring empowerment options since BEE legislation first appeared but refused to follow the usual path. “Like many people in your community, we weren’t comfortable doing a deal that made a few insiders rich. We wanted to create something that genuinely benefits people,” he told Hogg.The Maharishi Institute checked every box. Founded two decades ago by education visionary Taddy Blecher, the organisation has quietly built one of the most impactful tertiary networks in the country. Anglo American donated one of its major buildings in downtown Johannesburg to serve as the main campus, and today over 2,800 students study there. To date, the Institute has helped more than 22,000 young South Africans through university, with a staggering 96% employment rate among graduates.Jacobs encouraged everyone to visit the campus themselves. “It really is extraordinary,” he said. “If you go there and see the students, see how many have gone on to get jobs and support their families, it’s humbling. That’s the kind of initiative we wanted to back.”Not enrichment, but empowermentThe structure of the transaction is what makes it so unusual. Unlike many empowerment schemes where ownership is transferred to private individuals, this deal channels all benefits into a non-profit educational trust. Dividends from 36ONE’s profits will be used to expand access to higher learning and support new digital and vocational programmes for underprivileged youth.Darren Kramer, a corporate financier who has worked alongside Blecher for fifteen years, described the partnership as transformative. “This is the biggest transaction we’ve done,” he said. “We don’t just want to be a passive empowerment partner. The profits from our investments go straight into educating more students.”Kramer explained that the Maharishi Institute has previously worked with companies like Experian, Bright Insurance and Manpower, quietly structuring empowerment deals that fund education. “But this one is different,” he said. “The size, the visibility, the values behind it — it’s a game changer. It shows that empowerment can be ethical, sustainable and genuinely uplifting.”Building a legacy that lastsJacobs insists the deal has nothing to do with compliance or corporate image. “We’re not an asset-gathering business,” he said. “We’re comfortable with the size we are. This isn’t about chasing government mandates or scoring points. It’s about giving back.”He speaks of Blecher, whom he has known since their school days, with deep respect. “Taddy’s always been that person,” Jacobs said. “He was never interested in being a financial success. He’s always wanted to give back. He’s got a heart bigger than any of ours.”That heart has produced results that even the private sector would envy. The Institute’s graduates now contribute over R2 billion annually to the economy through their salaries. Blecher estimates their lifetime income potential at more than R80 billion. “He’s even been recognised at the World Economic Forum,” Jacobs added. “He’s a proper forward thinker.”A blueprint for meaningful transformationJacobs believes that this model could change how South African companies approach BEE altogether. “The Maharishi Institute is a non-profit organisation, and that qualifies under the codes,” he explained. “But more importantly, it fits our ethos at 36ONE. I’ve said many times that I’m anti-BEE in the way it’s been done, but if it’s done right, it can stimulate the economy and help people who can’t afford tertiary education.”Asked whether the transaction could have any business benefit, Jacobs shrugged it off. “We’re not doing this to win contracts or to become a level one contributor,” he said. “We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”That conviction is what makes the story stand out. In an economy battling cynicism and corruption fatigue, 36ONE’s approach offers something rare — a version of empowerment that’s both principled and practical.Beyond profitFor Jacobs, this deal is about legacy. It’s about making sure the next generation has tools the last one never had. “It’s about giving young people who never had access to education the chance to change their lives,” he said. “That’s how we move the country forward.”As Hogg put it at the end of the interview, whatever happens to 36ONE in the years to come, Jacobs and co-founder Stephen’s decision will continue to change lives long after they’re gone. It’s not charity. It’s a reimagining of what empowerment can be — a partnership between business and conscience.In a country weary of empty transformation talk, this might just be the kind of legacy South Africa needs most.

Cy Jacobs flips BEE script: 22% of 36ONE goes to educate SA’s forgotten youth

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