South Africa remains the beloved country; a land of great opportunity.  So too the continent of Africa. One engineering and environmental consultancy has pledged its commitment to the country, its love for the continent, and its dedication to a transformed and democratic Africa. To express this commitment, and in celebration of its continued independence, the firm, formerly known as Jeffares & Green, embarked on a rebranding exercise at the end of 2015.

Now known as JG Afrika, the company and its staff are excited about the message they are sending – a message that tells the world that Africa has a lot to offer. “Our name change speaks to our commitment to being proudly South African. We want to make a bold statement that we are locally owned and managed and plan to remain so. The company has a rich heritage and history in Africa. We are very excited about the future and remain committed to our beloved continent,” confirms Phakamile Ngqumshe, Director and Johannesburg Branch Manager.

The inclusion of ‘JG’ in the company’s new name denotes its acknowledgement of and appreciation for its history, while ‘Afrika’ indicates its independence, its love for the continent, and is a nod to the traditional spelling of ‘Africa’. This is most obviously represented in our first democratic National Anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. With this name, we will show the world that we are true to our African roots, while remaining unique and maintaining our independence,” believes Ngqumshe.

The brand development started with the selection of a new name, and after much research the selected options were presented to our staff and a vote held. “We really enjoyed the process of evaluating the naming options and involving our staff,” says Paul Olivier, Managing Director at JG Afrika.

The firm announced its new name to clients in February 2016 and launches the new brand throughout Africa in April.

“The brand identity was developed and designed with a purpose; to remember the company’s history, to reflect its ethos and project its future”, says Olivier. “The logo’s icon is representative of man-made, engineered, symmetrical lines. These lines are contrasted with organic shapes which represent the environment (green) and water (blue), denoting the environmental sphere of JG Afrika’s services. The design and name incorporates the three pillars of the Company’s ethos, experience, quality and integrity while displaying fresh innovative thinking.”

JG Afrika personality is perfectly portrayed through the new brand colours, being blue and green. In addition to the environmental connotations of these colours, they are associated with trust, dependability, strength, peace, growth and health. These characteristics reflect the company’s culture.

“In planning for 2016, part of our goal for the new year was to sustain the advancement and success that we have achieved for the past 94 years. Over this period, the company has progressed and evolved to keep pace with fluctuations in demand, the industry and customer requirements. To remain relevant, this must be a continuous process,” says Olivier. “As such, a strategy plan was meticulously devised to take JG Afrika to the next level on all fronts.”

As the African Proverb goes; “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This is the basis of JG Afrika’s long-term plans. “Together, we will continue to grow, learn and develop, with a focus on continuous improvement.  The time has come to look to the future and to align our corporate identity with our diverse expertise, our modern approach and the great future Africa has as a growing continent” concludes Olivier.