Windhoek: The Ohlthaver and List (OandL) Group has secured Great Place To Work accreditation for the 2026/27 period, a metric the company links to the achievement of its Vision 2029 targets. Financial and strategic roadmaps for the group indicate a goal to reach an Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) of N.dollars 2.5 billion by June 2029.

According to Namibia Press Agency, OandL Executive Chairperson Sven Thieme in a press release on Monday stated that the accreditation, verified by the Great Place To Work Institute, follows a Trust Index score of 69 percent for the current cycle. This performance coincides with the group's expansion into the green energy sector through its subsidiary, Cleanergy Solutions Namibia, which opened a green hydrogen plant in late 2025, he said.

"The feedback from the annual survey is vital for achieving the Vision 2029. The goal is to be recognised globally as a Top 10 Great Place to Work," he said. Thieme noted that data from the report shows that 11 operating companies achieved individual certifications. Analysts suggest that maintaining high internal trust scores is a strategy to retain technical talent as Namibia enters a period of industrial growth in the energy and mining sectors.

The group first entered the Trust Index survey in 2017. Current records indicate that the 2025 and 2026 cycles produced the highest employee engagement levels in the history of the group. Management stated that these results support the "OandL Persona" score, which aims to exceed 85 percent in embodiment of core corporate values. "Retaining this accreditation is a shared achievement. The investment in people has a direct bearing on the quality of service," he said.

OandL operates across food production, retail, tourism, and engineering. The group stated that the accreditation signals accountability to investors and partners regarding the stability of the workforce. "The internal culture translates into superior customer experiences and sustainable national development," Thieme stated.

The group plans to use the data to refine operational plans across all subsidiaries to ensure industry-standard returns on assets by the end of the decade. The full survey results will be shared with the workforce to facilitate concrete plans for improvement in the next cycle.