“The time has come for us to demonstrate that we can do things for ourselves as Africans, and take the challenge to build a global giant out of Africa,” says Fuzile Felix Fongoqa, Executive Chairman of the newly established NAKO Group.

In February 2014, three of South Africa’s most established consulting engineering firms – ILISO Consulting, Lategan Bouwer Engineers and Triocon Consulting Engineers – entered into a partnership to form NAKO Group, the first African-owned, multi-disciplinary consulting engineering powerhouse. Operating across the African continent, NAKO promises to deliver a range of specialised world-class engineering services to the people of Africa that will both modernise and industrialise the continent.

“A new horizon beckons for infrastructure development on the African continent, and engineering is key to this development,” explains the Executive Chairman. “The formation of NAKO Group marks the next phase of the African Renaissance vision whereby Africans take on the responsibility of developing and subsequently uplifting Africa through appropriate and sustainable engineering solutions. We are extremely positive about the partnership and look forward to the new opportunities it will open for us as a Group, as well as for the African continent as a whole.”

Reflecting on the formation and philosophy of the Group, Fongoqa explains, “The name Nako is inspired by time and our ‘can do’ attitude. If you put Ke before Nako, you get keNako. This is a Sesotho word meaning ‘now is the time’. If you put Si before Nako, you get an Nguni word, SiNako, meaning ‘we can’. We look forward to taking Africa to new heights with our positive attitude and world-class engineering and project execution skills.” With a strong presence across Africa and a formidable team of experts, the NAKO Group boasts a diverse and impressive engineering portfolio. Specialising in a number of different engineering disciplines, NAKO Group has collaborated with strategic partners from various countries including Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia to deliver sustainable engineering solutions that are tailor-made for the African landscape. Thus the connotation that African Engineers are not capable to take on larger projects in Africa is now in fact a myth!

“Our large team of innovative engineers is committed to providing technical excellence through the use of engineering solutions that are custom-built to the needs of each of our individual clients,” says Fongoqa. Some of the more notable client projects that NAKO Group have worked on include the Award winning Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium; the First National Bank & Wesbank Fairlands Office Park; the Medupi Power Station; the Eskom Koeberg Nuclear Power Station; the Botshabelo Health Laboratories Complex for the Lesotho Department of Health in Maseru; Natal Portland Cement’s R800-million expansion of its Simuma Factory in the Oribi Gorge area near Port Shepstone; the development of a Second Propylene Plant at Sasol in Secunda and the 500km Chobe/Zambezi Pipeline for Botswana’s Department of Water Affairs.