Michael Jordaan reveals his best investment — and which phone he uses

Michael Jordaan is one of South Africa’s most respected and successful businessmen — and for very good reasons.
Under his tenure as CEO, FNB was named the most innovative bank globally, and it became the bank of choice in South Africa.
After leaving the banking world, Jordaan founded Montegray Capital, a private investment firm focusing on early investments in disruptive technologies or business models.
Jordaan established himself as one of South Africa’s top investors, with many of the companies he invested in showing rapid growth and disrupting their industries.
One of Jordaan’s biggest investments is Rain — a pioneer in the South African mobile and fixed-wireless broadband market.
With a valuation of R16.6 billion, Rain has been a lucrative investment for Jordaan and other shareholders.
Another company that Jordaan invested in, cryptocurrency exchange VALR, raised over R750 million in Africa’s largest ever crypto funding round.
This capital raise values VALR at $240 million (R3.7 billion), making it another winner for Jordaan.
However, it is not his investments in Rain or VALR of which he is proudest. This honour belongs to Bank Zero.
Jordaan told MyBroadband that Bank Zero has great potential and that the best is yet to come.
Investment strategy
Jordaan said his investment strategy — finding startups that can solve real problems, sustainably — produced the results he expected.
“The venture capital thesis is to make ten to twenty diversified, risky investments. Some fail, but the overall portfolio is low risk and high performance because of a few exceptional ones,” he said.
The thing Jordaan regrets the most is that he invested all his funds so soon.
“I wish I had more capital as the investment opportunities are getting better and better,” he said.
He added that if he knew what he does now, he would spend even less time on paperwork and more on helping the team succeed.
Commenting on his entrepreneurial journey, he said the best part is solving problems that you care about.
“Because these are viable businesses, it means the solution to the problem is more sustainable than charities or state projects,” he said.
The most challenging part, he said, is the uncertainty of cash flows and how long it takes to break even.
Michael Jordaan’s tech choices
Which smartphone do you currently use?
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Which laptop do you currently use?
Macbook Pro, from 2014
What is the best investment you have ever made?
Buying a few Bitcoin in 2013 for under $200.
What is the worst investment you have ever made?
Selling these Bitcoin far too early.
What are you currently reading?
The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer.