Tracking Down Hijacked Cars Helps Mint a New African Billionaire

Zak Calisto’s firm started out helping carjack victims recover their vehicles in South Africa two decades ago. It’s since expanded to an international track-and-trace giant with a New York listing — and made him Africa’s newest billionaire.

The Portugal-born founder of telematics firm Karooooo Ltd, which started out as Cartrack, owns about two-thirds of the company which has since expanded to services including AI-powered driver monitoring and fleet-management. Backed by rising client subscriptions and global expansion, the stock rallied last week, catapulting him into the ranks of South African dollar billionaires.