Bidvest Namibia is all about people. We believe in empowering people and we are proud to inspire and energise communities, especially marginalised women.

We do this through opening new doors and opportunities for women that can provide a source of income and restore dignity. One approach is through shareholding ownership.

It is with this mindset that we are proud to be associated with WAD, and we support all initiatives aimed at empowering and uplifting the living conditions of marginalised communities.

Through the project called Ekunde, Bidvest Namibia empowers rural women by creating job opportunities for them. The women source traditional Omakunde beans to our canning business entity and we, in turn, package and can the beans to be sold to the commercial market.

As a wholly-owned and listed Namibian company, Bidvest Namibia employs more than 2,700 people in its fishing, food distribution, retail, industrial and freight business entities. The group is managed with a spirit of determination, commitment and empowerment – elements that have resulted in the successes that the company has achieved since its inception.

We firmly believe in sharing these successes and the lessons-learned as a way of empowerment. It is not strange that Bidvest Namibia is not only committed to Economic Empowerment , but regards it as a regional, national and business imperative. This is not simply philosophical or theoretical endorsement, but strategic for all our operations.

The Ovanhu Trust is the flagship BEE entity of Bidvest Namibia. The Trust owns 14.81% shareholding in Bidvest Namibia, subsequent to the listing of the group on the Namibian Stock Exchange in 2009. Similarly Women’s Action for Development is part of the Ovanhu Trust, and therefore is a co-shareholder in Bidvest Namibia.

Sebby Kankondi, CEO of Bidvest Namibia