From WorldSpace to Hyatt: How Hamza Farooqui built a diversified African investment empire

Hamza Farooqui has spent more than two decades building businesses across financial services, media, real estate, technology and hospitality. Today, he is the founder and CEO of Millat Group, a Johannesburg-based investment company with interests spanning hospitality, convenience retail, energy and food services.

Founded in 2016, Millat has built its strategy around bringing international brands into South Africa while developing local operating platforms around them. Its portfolio includes Hyatt-branded hotels, Pret A Manger and Circle K, giving Farooqui a growing presence across South Africa’s hospitality, food-service and convenience sectors.

His career, however, began well before Millat. Farooqui previously led WorldSpace Africa as managing director for South Africa and later co-founded CII Holdings, a business group with interests spanning media, financial services, real estate and retail.

From financial services to Africa’s satellite radio market

Born in Swaziland to Indian-Pakistani parents, Hamza Farooqui moved to South Africa with his family during the country’s transition to democracy. He later earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of the Witwatersrand.

His early career included WorldSpace, the satellite radio company that operated services across Africa and other emerging markets. Hamza Farooqui became managing director of WorldSpace South Africa in 2004, according to his professional profile, and remained with the company through 2009. Millat says he helped expand WorldSpace’s regional operations and played a role in its Nasdaq listing.

WorldSpace was listed on Nasdaq under the symbol WRSP. Its 2005 initial public offering generated roughly $241.5 million in gross proceeds, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hamza Farooqui’s WorldSpace tenure also coincided with a difficult period for the company. He was managing director of its South African business when the parent company became insolvent in 2008, and described his involvement in helping the South African operation navigate the subsequent process.

The experience placed Farooqui at the intersection of technology, media and emerging African markets — areas that would continue to feature in his later businesses.

Building CII around media and financial services

Hamza Farooqui subsequently co-founded CII Holdings, where he served as group CEO for more than a decade, according to Millat. The company operated across financial services, media, real estate and retail.

In 2017, CII’s interests included an Islamic radio station, clothing stores and hotels, while Farooqui was also pursuing opportunities in financial services. Hamza Farooqui’s work at CII included developing businesses around Islamic financial and lifestyle products and distributing English-language Islamic lifestyle content internationally.

That period broadened his experience beyond broadcasting and technology into consumer businesses, financial services and property.

Millat and the push into global brands

In 2016, Hamza Farooqui founded Millat Global, a Johannesburg-based investment company operating across hospitality, convenience retail, energy and food services, positioning the group as a gateway for global brands entering South Africa and other African markets.

The strategy has included partnerships with international consumer brands. Millat signed an agreement with Pret A Manger, giving the group an exclusive licence to operate Pret shops in Southern Africa. The partnership followed Millat’s move to bring Circle K into South Africa.

The Circle K agreement was structured as an exclusive licence for the South African market, with Millat subsequently opening its first store in Pretoria. Dentons, which advised Millat on the transaction, confirmed that the deal was intended to bring the international convenience-store brand into South Africa.

Hospitality has become the most visible part of the group’s portfolio.

Millat’s current portfolio includes Hyatt Regency Cape Town, Hyatt House Sandton, Hyatt House Rosebank and Park Hyatt Johannesburg. WTTC describes Millat as the largest owner of Hyatt-branded hotels on the African continent.

Park Hyatt Johannesburg puts Millat’s strategy in the spotlight

Park Hyatt Johannesburg opened on July 1, 2025, marking the Park Hyatt brand’s South African debut. The 31-key property is located in Rosebank and occupies a restored 1930s residence influenced by the architectural legacy of Sir Herbert Baker.

The property retains architectural features, with its main restaurant, Room 32, using live-fire cooking and focuses on locally sourced, seasonal ingredients. The property has also quickly accumulated international recognition.

In March 2026, TIME included Park Hyatt Johannesburg in its World’s Greatest Places 2026 list, highlighting its 1930s mansion setting, 31 rooms and Room 32 restaurant.

The hotel also received a One MICHELIN Key distinction in 2025 and a Booking.com Traveller Review Award in 2026, according to Hyatt’s current property information.

In August 2026, Park Hyatt Johannesburg was named Africa’s Leading New Hotel 2026 by the World Travel Awards. The award was announced at the Africa Gala Ceremony in Zanzibar on August 28.

The recognition came just over a year after the hotel’s opening and added another international distinction to Millat’s growing hospitality portfolio.

A career built around global brands and African markets

Hamza Farooqui’s career has moved through media, technology, financial services, real estate, retail and hospitality. His current business interests through Millat have increasingly centred on bringing established international brands into South Africa while building local operating businesses around them.

That approach is visible across Millat’s portfolio.

Circle K gives the group a presence in convenience retail, Pret A Manger extends its food-service interests, while the Hyatt portfolio has established a growing hospitality platform across Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Millat’s hospitality strategy has also expanded beyond individual hotel properties. In August 2025, the World Travel & Tourism Council appointed Millat Group to its Executive Committee, making it the first South African private equity firm to take a seat on the council’s highest governing body, according to WTTC.

For Hamza Farooqui, the move from WorldSpace and CII into Millat represents a career that has repeatedly crossed industries while maintaining a focus on businesses serving African consumers and markets.

The Park Hyatt Johannesburg is the latest expression of that strategy: a global hospitality brand operating from a locally restored property, backed by a South African investment group and positioned within one of Johannesburg’s established commercial and cultural districts.