Naspers Logo PNG
Naspers has grown from a media company in South Africa into an international investor in technology projects. The Naspers logo is associated with a holding company that invests in internet platforms, e-commerce, and payment services in various countries. Naspers holds stakes in major digital companies, although the name itself rarely takes center stage.
Naspers was founded in Cape Town in 1915 as a publishing company. Afrikaner nationalists created it. The first project was the newspaper De Burger, aimed at the Afrikaans-speaking audience. In the 1920s and 1930s, the publishing network expanded and covered several provinces. By the end of the apartheid period, the company had become the largest media holding in the Republic of South Africa.
In the 1980s, Naspers began transitioning to electronic media. The company invested in television and radio. In 1986, it was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. After 1994, it changed its strategy and opened to a broader audience.
In 1995, its subsidiary MultiChoice launched the paid satellite television service DStv. It became the market leader in Africa. In 2001, Naspers invested thirty-two million dollars in the young Chinese company Tencent. This investment became one of the most successful in the history of the global technology industry.
In the 2000s, the company developed its internet direction. It acquired stakes in e-commerce and online education projects. In 2008, Naspers purchased about thirty percent of Mail.ru Group.
By 2017, Tencent’s stake was valued at $175 billion. This amount exceeded Naspers’ own market value. In 2018, part of the Tencent shares were sold. The company’s international assets were consolidated into a structure called Prosus, registered in Amsterdam.
In 2019, MultiChoice became an independent public company. Prosus continued investing in digital education, fintech, and delivery. Among its projects were Byju’s in India and other technology companies. In 2021, Prosus conducted a share exchange program with Naspers to reduce the holding discount.
Following the 2022 technology market downturn, the company revised its investment portfolio. In 2024, it exited the Russian business and sold its stake in VK Group.
The company controls forty-three percent of Prosus. This holding owns 25% of Tencent and a portfolio of assets in e-commerce, delivery, and online services across more than 80 countries.
Meaning and History
What is Naspers?
It is an international media holding company based in South Africa that invests in internet businesses worldwide. Its assets cover online retail, digital payments, educational technologies, and media services. Through its publicly listed structure, Prosus holds stakes in Tencent, Delivery Hero, OLX, PayU, eMAG, Dubizzle, and other projects. The main focus is on developing e-commerce, fintech, and classified services with a global presence in more than 130 countries.
1915 – 1998
Naspers began in South Africa as “De Nasionale Pers Beperkt.” Translated from Afrikaans, it means “The National Press.” The early black-and-white logo matched the company’s publishing focus, which centered on the press, news, and printed products.
The composition was built on three levels. In the center was the sun, half hidden behind the horizon line. Rays extended from it, drawn with black lines. They widened from the middle, creating the image of sunrise or sunset. Below it lay a surface of black-and-white fragments, resembling uneven ground or a textured strip beneath the horizon.
Above the image was the phrase “HET DAGHET OVERAL.” Under the illustration was the inscription “NASIONALE PERS BPK,” meaning the company’s official name in abbreviated form. Both lines were set in capital letters in a strict typeface.
The sun in the logo worked as a metaphor for the publishing business. Newspapers and other printed materials were meant to shed light on events, provide knowledge, and bring news out of the dark. For this reason, the early Nasionale Pers logo conveyed the press through images of light, the horizon, and the spread of information.
1998 – today
Naspers received its modern name from the shortened form of “Nasionale Pers.” In 1998, the company moved away from the full name and adopted the shorter version, “Naspers Limited.” The logo changed along with the name. The brand needed to move away from the image of a local publisher and show its work beyond South Africa.
The new logo is built around an orange abstract emblem. In shape, it resembles a sun or an energy symbol. Inside the circle are white gaps and orange bands that spread from the center to the edges. The lines look like rays, information flows, or radio signals. In the middle is a triangular shape from which the entire symbol’s structure expands.
Below the emblem is the name “NASPERS” in large letters. The typeface has a classical feel, with references to Renaissance and Gothic fonts. The black inscription balances the bright symbol above it.
The orange color helps convey energy and openness. At the same time, the radiating lines are tied to the exchange of information, media, and international communications. For Naspers, the logo reflected the transition from a national press company to a media holding company with several lines of business.
