At a Glance
- Naspers eyes India for next $100 billion tech success via Prosus investments.
- Prosus has invested $10 billion in Indian startups like PayU and Meesho.
- CEO Bloisi expects five Indian IPOs this year to boost local tech markets.
After becoming the first company in Africa to surpass $50 billion in market value, Naspers is setting its sights even higher. The South African-based global internet group is now leaning heavily on India to shape its next chapter.
Through its Amsterdam-listed subsidiary, Prosus, the company is backing some of the country’s most talked-about tech startups, including payments platform PayU and online marketplace Meesho.
Bloisi bets big on India’s tech
Fabricio Bloisi, who now leads both Naspers and Prosus, believes India holds the potential to create a tech company worth $100 billion, or even more.
In an interview with CNBC, he said: “The companies there are still small. Our investment in India today is around $10 billion, similar to what we invested in China 14 years ago. But we’re not in it to sell next month. We think the next Tencent could come from India.”
That’s no small statement. Naspers is still widely known for its legendary early bet on Tencent. Back in 2001, under South African billionaire Koos Bekker, the company paid around $34 million for what was then a little-known Chinese internet startup.
Today, Tencent is a tech behemoth worth nearly $600 billion, and Naspers, via Prosus, still holds a 24.3 percent stake, even after selling down over the years. It remains one of the most successful venture investments in history.
Bekker is often credited with steering Naspers away from its roots in newspaper publishing and into the global tech arena. That shift has turned the company into a formidable investor across multiple continents, from Asia to Latin America. And now, under Bloisi’s leadership, the company is aiming to repeat history in India.
Naspers, Prosus bet big on India
Naspers, for its part, continues to grow in scale and reach. Its global portfolio now spans more than 160 investments across over 100 markets. Alongside its stake in Tencent, the company holds major positions in Prosus, PayU, and South Africa’s top e-commerce site, Takealot.
With a sharp eye on markets that are still evolving, Naspers and Prosus are betting that their next big story won’t be told in Johannesburg or Amsterdam, but in Mumbai or Bangalore.
Prosus pushes deeper into emerging markets
Prosus isn’t just placing financial bets, it’s preparing for the long haul. Bloisi said he expects five Indian startups in their portfolio to go public this year, a move he believes will strengthen India’s domestic tech ecosystem. “If India can build strong local capital markets to support its tech companies, it could be transformative, just like it was for the U.S. and China,” he said.
Beyond India, Prosus is also ramping up its presence in Europe and Latin America. Much like Tencent’s all-in-one ecosystem model with WeChat, which combines messaging, payments, food delivery, and ride-hailing, Prosus is betting that building connected services will be key to unlocking long-term growth in emerging markets.
