I came across this recent interview about Michelle Atagana’s interview with Koos Bekker of Naspers.
Michelle Atagana is the Managing Editor of Memeburn, an award-winning site that tracks emerging technologies primarily in emerging markets, which include the BRICs* countries. Koos Bekker is the CEO of the quiet but gigantic Naspers. Naspers is one of the top five media companies in the world operating in 129 countries globally.
Some of its properties in Sub-Saharan Africa include Multichoice, Mocality, Dealfish; and in South Africa – many more properties like OLX, Kalahari, News24, Media24 and many more. This company has managed to grow without being noticed for a long time by focusing mainly in emerging economies.
The interview begins…..
Naspers is an oddity. Who would have bet that a one-time newspaper company would have become an emerging-market internet giant? After all “Naspers” means “National Press”.
Naspers is one impressive company. It owns eCommerce and social networking properties all over the world, including China, Brazil, Russia, Africa and eastern Europe. The company has stakes in two of the world’s biggest social networks, the Chinese TenCent and a small, indirect stake in Facebook.
It’s a successful strategy that has seen Naspers make clever and timely investments in some of the world’s biggest internet properties, but critics say the company — while a strong print and satellite TV operator — is still searching for an organic internet success on a worldwide scale. The organic internet successes are largely limited to its home territory, South Africa — which now appears to be a key focus for the company in internet terms.
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Source: Memeburn