South African entrepreneur Brian Joffe, the founder of Bidvest Group and Bid Corporation, has received the 2026 Kirsh Family Lifetime Achievement Award in honour of anti-apartheid lawmaker Helen Suzman, recognising his decades-long contribution to business, entrepreneurship and economic development, according to Billionaire Africa and South African Jewish Report. The 79-year-old received the honour at the Investec Jewish Achiever Awards held on November 1, 2026. Joffe was recognised for building two major listed corporate groups from relatively modest beginnings, creating businesses that now operate across multiple markets and employ more than 130,000 people. During his acceptance speech, he emphasised that entrepreneurship carries a responsibility beyond wealth creation, saying that one of its obligations is also to give back.
Joffe’s business journey began in 1978 when he borrowed R49,000 to acquire an interest in a pet-food manufacturer. In 1988, he established Bid Corporation through the acquisition of Chipkins and Sea World, laying the foundation for what became the Bidvest Group. Through an extensive acquisition strategy, he expanded the business into logistics, distribution, facilities management, automotive retail and other services, transforming it into one of South Africa’s major diversified business groups. In 2016, Bidvest separated its international food-service operations into a separately listed company, Bidcorp, creating two substantial corporate entities. For the financial year ended June 2026, Bidcorp reported revenue of R242.2 billion, while Bidvest recorded R130.3 billion, reflecting the scale of the business platforms built under Joffe’s leadership.
Beyond the financial value of the companies he established, Joffe’s legacy is closely associated with a decentralised business model that gave executives significant responsibility for managing individual operations. His approach helped create opportunities for entrepreneurs and professionals across the groups, while his philanthropic philosophy placed emphasis on supporting people and communities through both financial contributions and access to opportunity. Now retired from executive leadership and based in Israel, Joffe remains connected to South Africa and its business community. His lifetime achievement recognition celebrates not only the scale of the corporate institutions he built, but also the people, partnerships and opportunities shaped throughout his entrepreneurial career.
