Bill Lynch has won the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award for developing one of South Africa's leading transport companies, writes Siobhán Creaton

Bill Lynch has spent 30 years building a company that makes profits of around $600 million (€475 million) a year, with earnings growing 19 per cent annually.

Today Imperial Holdings controls 17 per cent of South Africa's vehicle leasing market, owns 65 per cent of Tourvest, a listed tourism group, and is the joint market leader with Avis in car rental. It also owns a bank and has businesses in Ireland, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.

Mr Lynch says arriving in Johannesburg in the 1970s was a total culture shock. "It was a much larger city than Dublin and you were disadvantaged by speaking English. It was also a place where the First and Third Worlds were mixed together," he says.

At that time the world was in the grip of an oil crisis and the economic climate was difficult. Mr Lynch set about diversifying what was then a small car dealership into other areas of the transport business.

"It was difficult to raise finance and many banks turned us down as they were frightened to lend money to the sector because of the oil crisis. We eventually got the money elsewhere and signed our lives and our homes away."

The company listed on the stock exchange in 1987 and was one of the smallest stocks. "Since listing our earnings have grown 19 times annually. We have built up a substantial vehicle leasing business, we are the largest motor vehicle seller in South Africa and are a niche player in the insurance industry," he says.

It was the first industrial holding company in South Africa to found a financial institution, Imperial Bank, and has also moved into the aviation sector.

He likes to joke that his company has long since swallowed up two car dealerships that turned him down for a job when he first arrived in South Africa in 1971.

Talking about his business style and philosophy, he says, the company was simply being bold. "We bought a business in Germany in 1999. I had never been there before. We sized up the good people and hired the whole team. There was a certain amount of madness about it but we just did it," he explains.

Over the years some businesses have failed. "About 80 per cent of the acquisitions turned out very well, 15 per cent were fairly satisfactory and 10 per cent were bad," Mr Lynch says. "We made mistakes but you mustn't be afraid to do that."

Talking about his success, he says he always worked very hard. "I have always been happy and passionate about the business and have never been despondent. The business has progressed very well and has provided the basis for us to live well and to have a good life in South Africa. I don't believe in hoarding money. It should be re-invested to create jobs and for advancement," he says.

He retains a great fondness for Ireland and misses the culture that he left behind. He played Gaelic football in his youth in Kerry and in Dublin and keeps an eye on his home county's progress.

The economic transformation of Ireland from the dark days Mr Lynch left behind gives him great hope in terms of what can be achieved in his adopted country.

"I believe that South Africa is now on the threshold of good things. The economy is growing at 4 to 5 per cent a year and we have a well-disciplined budgetary position."

Mr Lynch is very supportive of investing in education in South Africa. "There is a huge backlog in education but I believe things are changing," he says. Imperial Holdings is also contributing to a programme to combat Aids.

In 50 years' time he hopes the company will be a global conglomerate