Graeme Smith the businessman: Betway SA20 surges in IPL jet stream

One of South Africa’s most successful cricketers, long-time Proteas captain Graeme Smith, has transformed into one of his sport’s leading businessmen. Smith is the League Commissioner of Betway SA20, whose second season kicks off on January 10, after a successful debut at the beginning of 2023. Smith is looking forward to significant growth in the coming season. The six SA franchises are owned by IPL giants, providing the commercial nouse and financial muscle to attract some of the world’s best players to the event. That’s after the first edition attracted the crowds back into cricket stadiums, generating R1.4 billion direct expenditure into South Africa, creating 8223 annualised employment opportunities and contributing R4.1bn to South Africa’s GDP. Smith shares the inside story of the most exciting development for SA cricket in decades with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.