Ninety One SA (Pty) Ltd

Ninety One is a global asset manager with its roots in South Africa. The firm was established in Cape Town in 1991 as Investec Asset Management, and its name recalls that founding year. Ninety One manages investments worth close to £172 billion for institutions, advisers and individual investors around the world, according to a provider record checked in August 2026.

Registered name

Ninety One SA (Pty) Ltd

Type

Listed company (global asset manager)

Fields funded

Business, education, engineering, healthcare, technology and psychology

Website

ninetyone.com

From Investec to independence

For nearly three decades Investec Asset Management grew inside the Investec Group. In 2020 the business demerged from Investec and became an independent company, dual-listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, under the new Ninety One name. Hendrik du Toit, who led the business from its early years, became Ninety One’s chief executive.

The Changeblazer bursary

Ninety One’s Changeblazer bursary is one of the more thorough school-leaver programmes in South Africa. The bursary covers full tuition, learning materials, accommodation and meals for degrees in business, finance and economics, education, engineering, healthcare (excluding dentistry, medicine and veterinary science), technology and computer science, and psychology.

Ninety One treats the bursary as holistic support rather than a purely financial transaction. Bursars receive private tutoring, career guidance, resilience training, mental health support and financial wellbeing sessions, and top performers get help obtaining a driver’s licence and a working wardrobe for their first job. The provider record notes that Ninety One has given particular attention to healthcare fields such as nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, a deliberate investment in South Africa’s health sector rather than only its own talent pipeline.

Who can apply

Applicants must be South African citizens under 21 who are in Matric and entering first year at a recognised South African university, with at least 70% overall for English and Mathematics or Sciences in Grade 11, strong leadership and family income below R600 000 a year. Career Wise administers applications. The 2027 round closed on 31 August 2026, and the 2028 round should open around June 2027.

How to research Ninety One

Ninety One’s website blocked automated reading when BursariesAfrica checked, so visit it in a browser and read the Changeblazer page and Ninety One’s sustainability reports. Because Grade 11 results count, Grade 10 and 11 learners should plan early. Think about what “changeblazer” means to you and prepare real examples of leadership at school or in your community.

See our health science bursaries for other healthcare funders.