The government’s pension fund invested in 15 companies which lost 100% of their money

The Public Investment Corporation’s Isibaya Fund, a South African state-owned entity, invested in many companies and projects which lost all of their money.

This was revealed in a Parliamentary question from Andrew Bateman to the Finance Minister about the PIC’s unlisted portfolio investments.

The Public Investment Corporation uses the Isibaya Fund as a specialised, unlisted developmental investment vehicle.

The Isibaya Fund has been under scrutiny over poor investments and investing billions in dubious companies.

The issue was highlighted in a list of Isibaya Fund provided by the Finance Minister, which showed many investments with a -100% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).

The IRR is the discount rate that makes the Net Present Value (NPV) of all cash flows, both negative investment amounts and positive returns, equal to zero.

More simply, the Internal Rate of Return is a measure of how quickly your money grows when you invest in a project or business.

The higher the IRR, the better the investment. You typically want to invest in things which give you the biggest IRR, as it means your money is working harder.

The Public Investment Corporation’s list of Isibaya unlisted portfolio investments showed that many of these investments had an IRR of -100%.

An Internal Rate of Return of -100% is the ultimate financial red flag. In plain terms, it means the PIC has lost absolutely everything invested in these businesses.

Hitting an Internal Rate of Return of -100% can happen in many ways, including:

• Total Business Bankruptcy: You invest capital into a startup or project, the company liquidates, and there is no residual value left to repay shareholders.

• An Aborted Project: A company realises mid-way that a project isn’t viable, and scraps the entire project before it generates a single rand of revenue.

• Total Asset Write-Off: Buying an asset that is completely destroyed, stolen, or rendered legally obsolete immediately, with zero insurance payout or salvage value.

An IRR of -100% is as bad as it gets, as you cannot lose more than 100% of the money you initially invested.

Poor investments by the PIC’s Isibaya Fund

The PIC is an asset management firm wholly owned by the government of the Republic of South Africa, represented by the Minister of Finance.

Its clients are primarily public sector entities, including the GEPF, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and Compensation Commissioner Fund (CC).

The PIC manages a diversified investment portfolio comprising multiple asset classes, including listed equities, real estate, capital market, private equity and impact investing.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana published an updated, detailed list of the Isibaya unlisted portfolio investments of the Public Investment Corporation.

The list revealed that 15 companies had an Internal Rate of Return of -100% and a total value of zero.

There were many more companies which lost nearly 100% of their money, but which still had some value.

The companies with an IRR of -100% and a total value of zero include Amalooloo, Berlin Beef, Concor, Educor, Ekuzeni, and Independent Media.

Others are LA Crushers, Musa, Naturecell, Solar Cap – Orange, Urban Lifestyle, VIA Bounty, Yalu, Bayport, and S&S Refinery.

The data showed that the Public Investment Corporation’s Isibaya Fund invested R4.45 billion in these companies but received no proceeds from them.

South Africa	Investment	Proceeds	Market Value	Total Value	IRR
Amalooloo	R188 million	0	0	0	-100%
Berlin Beef	R60 million	0	0	0	-100%
Concor	R315 million	0	0	0	-100%
Educor	R355 million	0	0	0	-100%
Ekuzeni	R31 million	0	0	0	-100%
Independent Media	R888 million	0	0	0	-100%
LA Crushers	R30 million	0	0	0	-100%
Musa	R250 million	0	0	0	-100%
Naturecell	R39 million	0	0	0	-100%
Solar Cap – Orange	R168 million	0	0	0	-100%
Urban Lifestyle	R499 million	0	0	0	-100%
VIA Bounty	R1374 million	0	0	0	-100%
Yalu	R75 million	0	0	0	-100%
Bayport	R149 million	0	0	0	-100%
S&S Refinery	R28 million	0	0	0	-100%

The Public Investment Corporation defends the Isibaya Fund

The Public Investment Corporation has previously defended the investments and track record of the Isibaya Fund.

It highlighted that most of the Isibaya Fund’s non-performing loans and heavy impairments are legacy issues.

It also said that judging the Isibaya Fund purely on traditional financial metrics misses its primary purpose.

Because Isibaya is a developmental fund, the PIC stressed its mandate to deliver socio-economic returns alongside financial ones. 

More recently, the PIC suspended the Acting Head of Unlisted Investments. It said that this had no impact on its mandate.

“Investment processes and portfolio management activities have continued without disruption,” it said.

For the financial year ending 31 March 2026, the Unlisted Investments portfolio has approved approximately R5.4 billion in new transactions.

The Unlisted Investments portfolio has also developed a strong pipeline of potential investments it will evaluate.

“The PIC continues to strengthen and enhance its investment approval processes, and these improvements are now yielding tangible outcomes,” it said.

The PIC is currently undertaking a broader review of its organisational structure and internal processes.

As part of this process, the Head of Unlisted Investments position will be re-advertised if deemed to fit within the new structure.