South African business executive Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa confirmed that tech conglomerate Prosus and parent company Naspers have poured €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) into French technology companies, expanding the group’s footprint across Europe.

Mahanyele-Dabengwa, who leads South African operations for both entities, disclosed the figure following a state visit to France alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Mahanyele-Dabengwa details European investment expansion

Writing on LinkedIn, Mahanyele-Dabengwa highlighted two major holdings driving the investment total: €1.1 billion ($1.25 billion) allocated to automotive marketplace Groupe La Centrale, and €400 million ($455 million) directed toward digital health insurance platform Alan.

The capital push comes as the Cape Town-based multinational internet and media group Naspers and its Amsterdam-listed unit Prosus work to tighten operational costs and double down on artificial intelligence tools across its e-commerce portfolio.

The European ventures complement a strong 2026 financial report for Naspers, which saw group ecosystem revenue rise 53 percent to $9.7 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) jumped 84 percent to $1.3 billion, while free cash flow hit a record $1.5 billion.

Strategic capital expands French tech ecosystem

Under Chief Executive Officer Fabricio Bloisi, the group has moved to embed AI tools into daily operations, aiming to automate routine tasks and improve customer recommendations across its food delivery, financial technology, and classifieds businesses.

“Under Fabricio Bloisi’s leadership, we’ve invested €1.1 billion into Groupe La Centrale and €400 million in Alan, deepening our commitment to France’s innovation ecosystem,” Mahanyele-Dabengwa wrote, noting the trip served to build closer commercial ties between South Africa and France.

Earnings were buoyed by rapid growth in emerging markets. Latin American food delivery giant iFood saw revenue climb 40 percent, while its financial services division, iFood Pago, grew 219 percent to reach profitability.

In India, payment platform PayU turned EBITDA-positive for the first time, processing $90 billion in transaction volume as revenue reached $781 million. In Europe, classifieds operator OLX posted a 28 percent increase in revenue, led by demand in auto sales, real estate, and job postings.

Naspers generated $2 billion from selling non-core assets during the period and returned $46 billion to investors through share buybacks, helping lift its net asset value per share by 16 percentage points. Core headline earnings per share rose 24 percent.