Group-buying MD shares the importance of making changes & learning to say no
Marthinus Fourie is the MD of group-buying scheme bsmart. He tells Margaret Harris that better financial education would help South African consumers get out of debt What do you do? I head bsmart, a financial services business with 35,000 members. The company works for and on behalf of its members/shareholders. The organisation's sole purpose is to benefit its members by using their combined purchasing power. Bsmart can negotiate discounts with selected retailers. The discounts are then distributed to all members as a bonus, which is based on members' purchases for the preceding year. We all know that, historically, South Africans are not good at saving. The purchase card model is similar to that of the co-operative, which is an organisation owned and operated by the people who use its services. Profits are shared among the members, rather than among shareholders. What did you want to be when you were a child? A racing-car driver. What is your work background? I have a legal and fin...
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