My Biography

Jacques Duyver is an innovative entrepreneur with a seemingly insatiable appetite for starting new businesses.
Jacques Duyver was born in Cape Town, South Africa.

At age 6, Jacques moved with his parents to Gauteng South Africa, where he attended primary and high school in a middle class area Germiston, a suburb of Johannesburg. Jacques was an extremely inquisitive child and was more intent on listening to what other people had to say as opposed to him doing any talking. When he did speak it was inevitably a question which would be followed by another question ad infinitum, Jacques was not stimulated by the teaching and learning that he experienced at school. He was however very thirsty for knowledge and always sought to sit in on the conversations of adults. He was very discerning in his selection of which grown ups he would listen to and whom he should avoid.

After school, Jacques enrolled at Stellenbosch University to study Aeronautical Engineering. Stellenbosch University is one of the world class universities of South Africa. Its academic reputation is equally matched by the quality of student social life.., Jacques passed his first year, the social life part, with flying colours and decided that academics was not for him. Jacques dropped out of University to pursue a sales career in office automation. In a very short space of time Jacques won every conceivable sales award/prize/trophies in the company and was earning a material income from sales commissions. Jacques entrepreneurial ways began early and from childhood Jacques had the desire to own his own business one day...., the office automation industry led him to start his own company .., Itec.., with a desk, chair, telephone and a 30 day $ 5 000 line of credit. The business to this day has used no external funding & all shareholders grew from within the company, the group 12 years later has an annual turnover of $180 million, over 50 partners, and as the founder, Jacques still retains 70% shareholding in the Itec Group.

One of Jacques core philosophies is partnerships.

In 2008 Jacques stepped down as CEO of Itec South Africa & in 2009 emigrated to London in the UK to pursue Itec UK (Today, Itec employs just over 800 staff in South Africa and UK). Jacques is constantly exploring and exploiting business opportunities & has other interests today in the UK under the name Boost Private Equity, Boost in 8 months has already started several ventures, TradeFin, Fundi, Chillibush to name a few...

Jacques roles in all the business’s today is innovative, strategic and growing great leaders in the companies and always with a exit strategy in mind. The private equity business also provides capital when the right investments have been found.

Jacques started a 3 year program in 2007 at Harvard Business School, a program specially designed for entrepreneurs that have already built successful companies from around the world, this experience & network has proven invaluable.

Jacques at a young age became a parent to a beautiful daughter, Chantal Duyver. Chantal who very recently graduated from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) with a degree in accounting.

Jacques is passionate about life and living every minute to its fullest.