The dominant narrative in South Africa is that when our companies expand abroad—whether into Africa, the UK, Australia, or even Chile—they stumble. We can all rattle off the big flops. But that’s only half the story. Some local companies have built massive offshore success stories. And, strangely enough, while South African firms rush overseas looking for profit, foreign companies rush into South Africa and often do very well.
Let’s deal with the specifics.
Where South African Companies Have Failed Abroad
A few high-profile disasters have shaped the national mood:
Tiger Brands – Chile
Tiger Brands’ R1.9 billion investment in Chile’s Empresas Carozzi was meant to be a springboard into Latin America. It turned into years of underperformance, currency headaches, and strategy drift. They finally exited in 2025 — at a modest profit on paper, but nowhere near what the opportunity cost should have delivered.
MTN – Repeated International Headaches
MTN’s Africa and Middle East adventures have been lucrative and painful.
• The famous $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria (for failing to disconnect unregistered SIM cards) nearly broke the company.
• They exited Syria because of the civil war.
• And the most recent Cameroon fines (2025) again highlight ongoing compliance issues.
Shoprite – West African Retreat
Shoprite once saw itself as Africa’s supermarket king. But:
• It pulled out of Nigeria after 16 years, citing forex shortages and impossible logistics.
• It exited Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana, writing off years of investment.
Woolworths – Australia
Woolworths’ acquisition of David Jones in Australia became a R10+ billion disaster. Supply chain mismatches and a misreading of the Australian consumer brought the venture down.
Sasol – The US Shale Bet
Sasol’s Lake Charles expansion ballooned to over R100 billion in losses. It remains one of the most expensive mistakes in South African corporate history.
These failures are large, loud, and public — and that’s why the narrative persists.
But Many South African Companies Succeeded Abroad
Strangely, these don’t get the same coverage — perhaps because success is quiet.
Naspers – Tencent (China)
The single most successful corporate investment in South African history.
Naspers’ early stake in Tencent turned a $32 million punt into over $100 billion of value. It transformed the company into a global tech investor.
Anglo American
Born in Johannesburg, now headquartered in London, Anglo is a global mining giant operating across 15+ countries. Its Peruvian copper operations and UK fertilizer projects are world-class.
Aspen Pharmacare
Aspen sells medicine in over 150 countries. More than 70% of its revenue comes from outside South Africa. Its European anaesthetics division is a big profit driver.
Bidvest
Bidvest’s services and logistics businesses in the UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific have been strong contributors for a decade.
Discovery
Its partnership model (e.g., Vitality UK, Vitality US, Ping An Health in China) has produced solid offshore earnings and an expanding international footprint.
Capitec – Portugal (via Tyme Group)
A smaller example, but worth noting: Capitec-backed TymeBank is expanding into the Philippines and Pakistan, quietly building a footprint some banks could only dream of.
There are South African successes abroad — we just hear less about them because they don’t produce the spectacular explosions that failures do.
Now Flip It: Foreign Companies That Succeeded in South Africa
Here’s the irony: while local firms struggle offshore, global companies frequently thrive here — despite South Africa having some of the toughest labour, procurement, and compliance laws in the world.
Walmart (Massmart)
Walmart stumbled at first, but its full takeover and the introduction of Walmart-branded stores in 2025 show long-term confidence. Builders Warehouse is now the dominant DIY chain.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS invested billions in Cape Town data centres. It powers a huge share of SA cloud infrastructure, serving banks, insurers, retailers, and thousands of SMEs.
Microsoft Azure
Azure’s data centre expansion in Johannesburg has been a major success, with SA becoming Microsoft’s African cloud hub.
Hisense
Hisense’s manufacturing plant in Atlantis (Western Cape) produces TVs and appliances for both the local and export markets. It’s profitable, expanding, and hiring aggressively.
Huawei
Despite geopolitical pressures, Huawei dominates a large portion of South Africa’s 4G and 5G infrastructure, and its enterprise division is booming.
McDonald’s
Entered in 1995, now with more than 300 stores and some of the best-performing drive-thrus in the global group.
KFC
The single most successful fast-food chain in South Africa. Over 1,000 outlets — many more than McDonald’s — and often the highest per-store sales in the world.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola’s bottling business in South Africa is one of the strongest on the African continent, with deep distribution networks and strong local partnerships.
Foreign companies face the same legislation, the same tough unions, the same compliance landscape — yet many thrive.
So Why the Difference?
Three simple reasons:
1. Foreign companies do their homework.
They arrive with teams of analysts, lawyers, compliance specialists, and people who study markets before entering them.
2. South African companies often underestimate foreign complexity.
They assume “Africa is Africa” or “a retailer is a retailer,” and get blindsided.
3. Foreign companies see South Africa as strategic.
A sophisticated financial sector, strong retail base, talented workforce, and a gateway to Southern Africa.
They plan carefully — and they profit.
The Real Question
It’s not really:
Why do South African companies fail abroad?
A better question might be:
Why do foreign companies succeed in South Africa while ours struggle abroad?
And the answer is refreshingly undramatic:
Preparation, insight, and respect for local conditions — whether at home or abroad — determine who wins.
