Firms in quest for excellence

THREE financial parastatals, Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), Agribank and the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), joined hands on Tuesday to launch the ‘Journey to Excellence’ programme.

The programme is designed to chart a course for organisations to implement to see increased competitiveness and greater sustainability. The three companies embarked on the programme towards the end of last year in a bid to provide better services and products to their clients, and subsequently achieve an international competitive level.Speaking on behalf of the parastatals, NHE Chief Executive Officer Vinson Hailulu said their aim was to contribute towards Namibia’s economic growth, which included direct and indirect creation of jobs.”It thus follows that increasing the competitiveness of the three DFIs consequently influences the rise in the competitiveness status of the industry in which they function, which in turn increases the competitiveness of the economy of our country,” said Hailulu.He said it was important that industries realised their connectedness for improved economic performance, adding that no institution – be it public or private – could excel in isolation.”We take into cognisance the fact that our aspirations to become excellent organisations are not going to be realised until and unless those institutions who provide input into our operations and processes are also aligned and supportive of this excellence orientation,” said Hailulu.He added that they would be championing the programme to the Government so as to launch a nationally driven initiative to promote the ‘excellence model’.The programme is designed with the assistance of Nina Mapili of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business known as Safri.The launch was attended by captains of industry, and representatives from the Government among many others.Guests at the event also had a chance to mingle with the visiting German business delegation, currently in Namibia to seek trade opportunities.The three companies embarked on the programme towards the end of last year in a bid to provide better services and products to their clients, and subsequently achieve an international competitive level.Speaking on behalf of the parastatals, NHE Chief Executive Officer Vinson Hailulu said their aim was to contribute towards Namibia’s economic growth, which included direct and indirect creation of jobs.”It thus follows that increasing the competitiveness of the three DFIs consequently influences the rise in the competitiveness status of the industry in which they function, which in turn increases the competitiveness of the economy of our country,” said Hailulu.He said it was important that industries realised their connectedness for improved economic performance, adding that no institution – be it public or private – could excel in isolation.”We take into cognisance the fact that our aspirations to become excellent organisations are not going to be realised until and unless those institutions who provide input into our operations and processes are also aligned and supportive of this excellence orientation,” said Hailulu.He added that they would be championing the programme to the Government so as to launch a nationally driven initiative to promote the ‘excellence model’.The programme is designed with the assistance of Nina Mapili of the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business known as Safri.The launch was attended by captains of industry, and representatives from the Government among many others.Guests at the event also had a chance to mingle with the visiting German business delegation, currently in Namibia to seek trade opportunities.