Brothers DeVilliers and Jaco Botha Co-Found South Africa's Largest Rooftop Solar Installer Solareff
DeVilliers and Jaco Botha are co-founders of Solareff, South Africa's largest rooftop solar power installer. The brothers, along with their older brother Marius, grew up in Roodepoort and established Solareff after Jaco's realization about the unsustainability of fossil fuels.
Jaco transitioned from a career in mining to lead Solareff as CEO in 2013, followed by DeVilliers as COO in 2016. The company has achieved significant milestones, including the Clearwater Mall project, which featured a 500kWp installation in 2014, later expanded to 5.784MWp.
Solareff's Eastgate Mall installation reached 7.216MWp, with record-breaking capacity achieved in 2024. By the end of 2025, the company had delivered 279MWp of solar capacity and over 47MWh of battery energy storage systems. Both brothers emphasize the importance of mutual respect and open communication in their family business.
