Sisa Ngebulana Property Millionaire South Africa

Full Name: Sisa Michael Ngebulana

Sisa Ngebulana Rebosis fund ceo SA Entrepreneurs Sisa Ngebulana
Sisa Ngebulana Rebosis Fund CEO

CEO of Rebosis Property Fund Limited

Net worth – R400 Million

Sisa Ngebulana is the Chief Executive Officer of Rebosis Property Fund Limited. Ngebulana is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of Billion Group Limited.

At a Glance

Born: in East London, South Africa (Age 46)
Source of Wealth: Property Development, Construction, self-made
Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa
Country of Citizenship: South Africa
Education: LLB, University of KwaZulu-Natal; LLM Masters Degree, Rand Afrikaans University
Biography of Sisa Ngebulana

Mr. Sisa Michael Ngebulana, B.Juris, CEA (SA) LLB, LLM is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Rebosis Property Fund Limited since August 13, 2010. He is the Founder at Billion Group (Pty) Limited since 1998 and it’s Executive Chairman. Mr. Ngebulana is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. He practised with Jan S de Villiers attorneys specialising in commercial litigation, before joining Eskom for seven years as legal counsel specialising in property and finance. Mr. Ngebulana has business exposure to coal mining, truck rental, security, event management and catering. He has been an Independent Non-Executive Director of Truworths International Ltd. since May 1, 2007. Mr. Ngebulana serves as a Director of Attfund Limited, Hemingway Shopping Centre (Pty) Limited, Mdantsane City Shopping Centre (Pty) Limited and Phomella Property Investments (Pty) Limited. He previously served as the President of the South African Council of Shopping Centres, Director of Attfund and the Construction Industry Development Board. In 2006 Mr. Ngebulana received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He holds B. Juris.; CEA (SA); LLB and LLM degrees.

Background

1 Hemingways Mall East London Eastern Cape main outside owned by Sisa Ngebulana 1024x640 Sisa Ngebulana
Hemingways Mall – East London – Eastern Cape

Sisa Ngebulana is the sole owner of the Billion Group, a multi-billion rand property company. Billion Group is also the majority shareholder of Rebosis, which it established in 2010, the first black-managed and substantially black-held property fund to be listed on the JSE. So how did Sisa become one of the wealthiest property players in South Africa? Hailing from an entrepreneurial family, Sisa believes entrepreneurship is in his blood. Sisa’s grandfather – his mentor and the most in?uential person in his life – raised him from a young age. Also an entrepreneur, his grandfather ran a brick-making factory. Since high school, Sisa helped out at the brick factory with plans, materials and budgets. This is where Sisa experienced the property and building business ?rst-hand and also where he learnt about planning and ?nances, because people would often go to the factory to get quotes and guidance  regarding what they could build with what they could a?ord.

Always property

While Sisa was studying towards his LLB, he widened his property experience by selling homes in Scottsville to finance his studies and living expenses. After qualifying as a  commercial lawyer, Sisa opened a commercial estate agency in Cape Town. From there he moved into trading in the capital and money markets. His next venture saw him moving into the upmarket residential property development market.

Billion Group born

His background in commercial law and ?nance gave him an edge when it came to starting the Billion Group in 1997. “I’ve got the commercial background and I know how to run the numbers,” says Sisa. “Big companies were dumping their stock at the time, so I bought three buildings cheaply and sat on them for years.” Although the company started out in residential property, essentially ?ipping houses, in 2003 they moved to commercial property. “To create wealth, you have to develop properties from scratch,” says Sisa. “You can’t do it by buying properties.” And this is exactly what they did. The first development was in Mdantsane City, a regional mall located in a township between East London and King Williams Town. A super regional mall called Hemingways in East London followed. Today, Hemingways is one of South Africa’s 20 largest malls.

Hemingways Mall East London Eastern Cape – External view owned by Sisa Ngebulana Sisa Ngebulana
Hemingways Mall – East London – Eastern Cape

To the stock exchange

As the company expanded, it became imperative to ease some of the debt. Sisa did this by establishing Rebosis in 2010 and listing the company on the JSE. He is currently the CEO of Rebosis. As a result of the listing, the company can raise capital to facilitate the purchasing of additional properties and reduce the group’s overall gearing levels. It also allows investors to access the income streams from the group’s retail investments.

Overcoming the challenges

And the greatest challenge when he first started out? Sisa says it was difficult to attract investors, because when you ?rst start out, you are an unknown entity. But, as the company grew and became better known, that challenge was replaced by others. One of biggest challenges Sisa has faced is the media and the allegations thrown at him in the press. He has been accused of using his political connections to win government tenders, a very lucrative part of the commercial property market. With tenders worth millions of rands awarded to property companies to lease their buildings to government, their business is highly sought-after. Many companies use government leases to secure bonds for the buildings being leased. “Unlike some of these lease deals, where the government lease is necessary to secure the bond, we actually own our buildings and have done so for years,” says Sisa. Sisa believes the stories and allegations are a result of disgruntled competitors. Nevertheless, he says that the tender process for government business should be more transparent. “Corruption will lead to the downfall of our economy and our country. We need checks and balances to eradicate this.” While government is an important client of the Billion Group, it only contributes 36% of the income produced by Rebosis’ R3.8 billion rand portfolio. “The problem with government tenders is that there is no transparency, so it is easy for competitors to kick up stories. Government needs to make the criteria and the selection process more public,” comments Sisa. And while the allegations have blown over, the need for a transparent tender process stills remains.

a R1.36 BILLION NEDBANK FUNDING FOR NEW CENTURION FOREST HILL CITY SHOPPING CENTRE BILLION PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS Sisa Ngebulana
R1.36 BILLION NEDBANK FUNDING FOR NEW CENTURION FOREST HILL CITY SHOPPING CENTRE (BILLION PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS)

Spreading the wealth

With power and success comes responsibility – not just to family but also to the community. While Sisa admits that it can be di?cult to balance business and life, he believes that, at the end of the day, you do business to give your family a better life. And his companies do more than just afford his family a better life – they give back to the community as well, distributing blankets in winter, allocating funds to support orphanages and old age homes, providing shoes to underprivileged children and running a grant program for boys and girls with merit – proving that big business can have heart and care for the community it caters to. The next ?ve years hold promise,” says Sisa. Having gone from boy to billionaire in the property market, with not one but two companies under his belt, it will be very interesting to see what the Billion Group and Rebosis achieve in the next ?ve years.

Corporate Headquarters

Palazzo Towers West
Johannesburg, Gauteng 2191

South Africa

Phone: 27 11 511 5335
Fax: 27 11 511 5626

PROFESSIONAL DETAILS

CURRENT POSITION(S)

Independent Non-Executive Director | TRUWORTHS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, 2007 – Present
Consumer Goods, Fashion and Retail

Founder & Executive Chairman | Billion Group (Pty) Limited, 1999 – present
Accounting, Banking and Finance

Chief Executive Officer | Rebosis (Pty) Fund Limited
Accounting, Banking and Finance

Non-Executive Director | Hemingway Shopping Centre (Pty) Limited
Consumer Goods, Fashion and Retail

Non-Executive Director | Mdantsane City Shopping Centre (Pty) Limited
Accounting, Banking and Finance

Non-Executive Director | Phomella Property Investments (Pty) Limited
Accounting, Banking and Finance

PREVIOUS POSITION(S)

Legal Counsel | Eskom

Mining, Energy and Natural Resources

Non-Executive Director | Attfund Property Investment Fund
Accounting, Banking and Finance

EDUCATIONAL HISTORY

TERTIARY

LLB - University of KwaZulu-Natal,
LLM Masters Degree - Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg, South Africa
Attorney - Cape High Court
Bachelors Degree – Law - University of Fort Hare


ACHIEVEMENTS

AWARDS

Entrepreneur of the Year

REFERENCES

Who’s Whos SA
Business Week
Reimag.co.za
source