Company Announcement - ILISO Consulting, an African Consulting Engineering firm that specialises in engineering, environmental and project management services, is pleased to announce that it has formally established its operations in Namibia with the opening of a new office in Windhoek.

Mr Theunis Heunis has been appointed to lead ILISO Consulting’s Namibian head office as the locally based director and office manager. This follows a long association with ILISO Consulting, where he became acquainted with the company’s directors while working jointly on upgrades to Cape Town’s International Airport. Mr Theunis has extensive work experience in both the South African and Namibian engineering environments. He looks forward to applying his experience at ILISO Consulting, which is already engaged in negotiations with clients in Namibia.

“Namibia is on the brink of substantial development in terms of infrastructure, housing and roads development,” says Heunis. “ILISO, with its extensive cross-border expertise in public and private sector infrastructure development is well positioned to seize new opportunities in this region,” he adds. Heunis goes on to say that Namibia’s newly elected President, has placed firm focus on progressive development, and that the local government is looking for companies that can help achieve developmental objectives.

“Namibian President, Dr Hage Geingob, has made a clear statement about his objectives to focus on poverty eradication, social inequalities, the economy and improved service delivery,” says Heunis. “While there are a number of consulting engineering firms currently operating in this region, we believe that ILISO Consulting has a unique advantage, and much to add in terms of our diverse range of expertise in infrastructure, transportation, structures, management services and environmental management,” he says.

ILISO’s Namibia office is led by a board of directors with significant expertise in cross-border operations.

Dr Helena Ndume, a Namibian ophthalmologist, notable for her charitable work among sufferers of eye-related illnesses in Namibia, has taken up the position as the chairperson of the board of directors for ILISO Namibia. She brings with her a vast amount of international working experience as well as fresh insight that provides a major benefit to the organisation.

Clint Koopman, the CEO of ILISO Consulting, is a Namibian-born consulting engineer with more than 25 years of experience in the sector. As the CEO of ILISO since 2007, he has successfully led the firm through some of the most challenging economic downturns, ensuring a profitable firm that continues to extend its operations into Africa.

Hans Hartung, another Namibian-born consulting engineer and the current head of ILISO Consulting’s Infrastructure Discipline Group, has been appointed as the managing director of ILISO’s Namibian operations.

“Namibia currently has one of the most stable economies in Africa,” says Mr Hartung. “ILISO Consulting is well placed to broaden its footprint of operations into Africa, and providing specialised African engineering solutions within our own continent has always formed an important part of our strategy,” he added. “I am delighted to join this board of directors to lead the Namibian office into the future, and to continue the important work that we have started to carry out in this region.”

In addition to its unique understanding of the Namibia market, ILISO Consulting places great emphasis on the successful implementation of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, and has developed a robust approach towards the transfer of skills and development in all its areas of operation.

“We have identified opportunities to take some of the young up-and-coming local consulting engineering firms in the region, and to form partnerships with them in order to facilitate the development of true B-BBEE opportunities,” says Hartung. “We have much to offer these developing firms in terms of transferring financial, management and project management skills,” he adds.

“ILISO Consulting is dedicated to poverty alleviation, addressing social inequalities and developing infrastructure for the people of the African continent,” says Hartung. “We look forward to becoming an integral part of Namibia’s development plan as outlined by its government and see this expansion as a wonderful opportunity to make a lasting and meaningful difference in a new region,” he concluded.