The South African banker who created two billion-rand companies

Michael Jordaan went from one of South Africa’s most influential banking CEOs to a venture capitalist who backed and helped build Rain and Bank Zero.

Jordaan grew up in Stellenbosch and describes his childhood as fairly typical. He attended Paul Roos Gymnasium during his high school years and matriculated in 1985.

While he has openly admitted that he was not the best student in his high school years, his perspective shifted when he discovered a passion for economics at university.

“I did well at school until the last years when I discovered girls, and that completely sidetracked me. I can’t say I was a great scholar at school,” Jordaan told Monocle Solutions.

He attended Stellenbosch University, and his newfound passion for economics propelled him to work harder, leading to him graduating cum laude.

He went on to enrol in postgraduate studies at the same university, completing a Master’s of Commerce in Economics in 1992, followed by a PhD in Banking Supervision in 1997.

“At university, I did okay, and I passed everything until my third year, when I fell in love with economics, and I did quite well in economics, and you know, got some degrees,” he said.

After completing his PhD, Jordaan gained critical experience while at Deutsche Bank in Hamburg, Germany, where he completed a management trainee programme.

In 1994, he returned to South Africa and participated in a programme in Rand Merchant Bank’s credit and corporate finance divisions.

By the programme’s end, Jordaan was FirstRand co-founder Paul Harris’ personal assistant, a relationship which proved highly beneficial over the years.

According to Jordaan, Harris is someone he looked up to, adding that “you want to work with people who are better than you”.

In 1996, Jordaan got involved in convening and establishing Origin, the Merchant Bank for Individuals, at which he became CEO. It was later rebranded to RMB Private Bank.

He served as the CEO of FNB Homeloans from 1999 to 2000 and went on to establish FNB’s Internet banking and rewards business, eBucks.

Jordaan was appointed FNB CEO in 2004 at the extraordinarily young age of 36, and still holds the title of the youngest person to lead the bank in its 188-year history.

He played a critical role as the bank’s CEO, leading it for nearly a decade and safely navigating through the global financial crisis experienced in 2008.

While he was at the helm, FNB’s customer base grew from 4.4 million to 7.1 million, and the bank’s profits surged from R904 million in 2004 to over R7.4 billion in 2013.

This had a profound effect on FNB owner FirstRand’s share price, which grew from R5.54 to R35.70. It also delivered a 20% annualised return for shareholders over 10 years.

He was recognised for transforming FNB into the World’s Most Innovative bank in 2012 and later embarked on various business ventures in the tech industry.

A decade as FNB CEO to backing two billion-rand companies

Jordaan stepped down as FNB chief executive at the end of 2013, handing over the reins to Jacques Celliers.

Following his exit from FNB, Jordaan established his venture capital firm, Montegray Capital, to invest in disruptive tech start-ups.

Among other things, his ventures led to the creation of two South African tech unicorns: Rain and Bank Zero.

Rain, a 5G telecommunications provider formed through a joint investment by Jordaan and his aforementioned role model, Harris.

The telecoms firm was last valued at R25.9 billion by African Rainbow Capital Investments in the half-year results published in March 2025, before Rain’s delisting from the JSE.

Jordaan also co-founded the digital bank Bank Zero with fellow banking innovator Yatin Narsai. The digital-first bank fully launched to the public in 2021.

In June 2025, Lesaka Technologies announced a R1.1 billion deal to buy 100% of Bank Zero. Lesaka, which used to be known as Net1, is a South African fintech company listed on the NASDAQ and the JSE.

Following the deal’s conclusion, Bank Zero shareholders will own approximately 12% of Lesaka’s shares, and Jordaan will remain chairman of Bank Zero.

He will also join the Lesaka Board of Directors, while Narsai will stay on as Bank Zero’s CEO. The rest of the management team will remain intact.

Rain and Bank Zero are among Jordaan’s most prominent successes. However, his portfolio includes many similar stories, earning him a reputation for having a Midas touch.

Other examples of his ventures in the technology and telecommunications sector include fibre operator Herotel and cryptocurrency exchange VALR.

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Former FNB CEO gone venture capitalist, Michael Jordaan

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