10 South African Entrepreneurs In The Sports Industry
10 South African Entrepreneurs In The Sports Industry. These entrepreneurs are contributing to the growth and development of various sports in South Africa through management, marketing, talent development, and innovative platforms. Below are some of the South African entrepreneurs making significant contributions to the sports industry.
Bryan Habana
Bryan Gary Habana is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later on, he shifted to the wing. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 competition, and for the South Africa national team. He is the co-founder of Paymenow, which is a financial wellness and inclusion platform that allows employees early access to already earned wages – Earned Wage Access (EWA).
Lucky Lekgwathi
Lucky Lekgwathi is a retired South African football defender who played for Orlando Pirates. He played for South Africa at the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, at which South Africa were guests. Since he retired firm football Lekgwathi has been building his eatery establishment called Grootman, that is situated in Soweto. Even though he was forced to closed down due to the unrest and looting, he quickly managed to reopen the business again.
Morne du Plessis
Morne du Plessis co-founded SSISA, which focuses on sports science research and providing fitness, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement services to athletes.
Mike Sharman
Mike Sharman co-founded MatchKit.co, a platform that helps athletes build their personal brand online. It offers tools for athletes to showcase their achievements, engage with fans, and attract sponsorships.
Kaizer Motaung
Kaizer Motaung is a former South African association football player and founder of Kaizer Chiefs FC, of which he is chairman and managing director.
Brighton Mhlongo
Brighton Mhlongo is a South African football goalkeeper. In 2021, Mhlongo was forced into early retirement due to an eye injury. Due to this Mhlongo decided to focus and pursue other ventures which also included entrepreneurship, he partnered with fellow footballer Oupa Manyisa to establish an app called My Football CV, which allows young players to register and complete their profile with agents now able to simply view a player by the click of a button.
John Comitis
John Comitis is the owner and chairman of Cape Town City FC, a South African professional football club. He is involved in the management and strategic development of the club, focusing on growing its fan base and commercial success.
Siphiwe Tshabalala
Siphiwe Tshabalala is a South African professional soccer player who most recently played as a midfielder for AmaZulu. With the success he had in football, Tshabalala has tried to achieved success in the business world as well as he established his own hang out spot called ‘ShaYe’ with former teammate Reneilwe Letsholonyane. Due to the pandemic, the establishment was forced to close down, but Tshabalala has shown that he is willing to start and build a business and therefore he might venture into business again in the future.
Dr. Patrice Motsepe
Dr. Patrice Motsepe bought into Sundowns in 2003 to partner the Tsichlas. He increased his stake from 51% to 100% in 2004 and renamed the club ‘Mamelodi’ Sundowns. The renaming of the club to Mamelodi Sundowns is described by the club as “a nod to its heritage in Atteridgeville, Eersterus and Laudium and the club’s home in Mamelodi.”
Pitso Mosimane
Pitso Mosimane is celebrated as one of the most accomplished African football players and coaches of the 20th & 21st centuries. Building on a career spanning decades and across multiple continents, in 2022 he embarked on his next endeavour to change the game (of football), for good by creating Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa.
