(Image: Cynthia/Danielle Klopper)
South Africa's richest self-made woman has officially come home, and everyone is thrilled.
Cape Town-based investor Magda Wierzycka says she also received a personal message from South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter shortly after her return in 2025. There was a warm “welcome back” from the tax official.
But Wierzycka didn't just return for nostalgia's sake. Within just a few weeks of arriving back in South Africa, she was already planning her next big move – launching a venture capital fund for artificial intelligence startups.
The plan is simple but ambitious. Back local innovation, stop talented engineers from leaving the country, and help create technology here instead of importing it later.
Before coming back, Wierzycka spent several years living in the United Kingdom. Security concerns played a role in that decision after becoming famous for his outspoken criticism of corruption in South Africa.
But it was a change in Britain's tax policy that finally reversed the scale. The changes announced in the UK's 2024 budget target non-domiciled residents – a long-standing arrangement that had allowed foreign nationals to shield some foreign income from British taxation.
Under the reforms, overseas income and offshore trusts held by long-term residents will fall within the UK tax bracket, including inheritance tax that could reach 40%. By the end of 2025, Wierzycka had had enough.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Africa Business Summit in December that year, He described the UK as “investable”.
He pointed to heavy taxes, including 42% dividend withholding tax and 40% inheritance tax, as key reasons for the stake increase. “Such a tax environment is not possible for any entrepreneur like me,” he said, adding that it has become unsustainable to invest more capital in such a high tax environment.
Instead of packing her bags for the usual billionaire bolt-holes like Greece, Italy or Dubai, Wierzycka decided that South Africa might actually offer better opportunities. Their optimism is partly linked to the country's changing political landscape and increasing investment in energy projects.
“You see these political parties learning to work together and there's a huge amount of investment going into renewable energy,” he said.
His transfer was first publicly confirmed in Sygnia's 2025 CEO report released in December, and also signals a renewed hands-on role at the investment firm he co-founded.
“Cygnia is growing and growing and growing,” Wierzycka said. “There is still a lot to be done.”
At the center of their comeback is a new venture capital fund focused on artificial intelligence companies in South Africa. The fund will target early-stage startups and provide more than just cash. Support is expected to include licensing assistance, marketing assistance, and product development guidance.
“We have equal intellectual capital, but not equal access to capital,” he said, warning that without a strong funding ecosystem, countries risk exporting their best engineers and importing technology they could create themselves.
Sygnia plans to invest some of its capital in the fund and launch a national competition to identify promising AI startups. If everything goes as per plan, the initiative could become operational within six months.
Wierzica's journey to the top South Africa's financial sector started nowhere near a boardroom. Born in Poland in 1969, she fled Austria with her family during the political turmoil in the early 1980s and eventually settled in South Africa in 1983. She attended Pretoria High School for Girls and later studied actuarial science at the University of Cape Town.
His career began at Southern Life before moving to Alexander Forbes, where he helped build the firm's retirement fund advisory business. In 1997, she joined Coronation Fund Managers as its 14th employee – long before the firm became a giant in asset management – and later co-founded Sygnia.
Under his leadership, the company has grown dramatically. Sygnia now manages assets of approximately R461 billion, up from approximately R2 billion at the time of its launch. The company recorded profits of R383.2 million in 2025 and has a market valuation of about R5.22 billion.
Today, Wierzycka's personal wealth is estimated at approximately $250 million. His stake in Sygnia alone is valued at about $114 million, with the rest held in private investments and other financial assets.
She is often described as the richest woman in South Africa, but she doesn't define it that way. Wierzycka says she prefers a slightly different title: Richest Self-Made Woman.
(Source: businessinsider)