Our Story
Since childhood, Frans Indongo has advocated that “a little is the basis of a lot. Not much, the makings of many”. In the face of adversity, as a young black man, he stopped at nothing to generate income through various ventures, whether it was hunting, drying meat, cutting wood, selling goods, building huts or sewing.
He saw prospects in everything and approached life with a sense of purpose and determination, synonymous with the great pioneers of old. In the late 1950s, he worked for a brick maker whilst in Walvis Bay and used the money to buy sewing machines, believing you should never “squander your profits but rather invest it in your business to ensure your company has a future and the ability to reinvest in Namibia”. These combined initiatives ultimately paved the way for establishing today’s flourishing Namibian empire.
In 1964 the first shop in Okatana was built from mud bricks with a thatched roof. At that time business was going well thus creating a need for a larger shop. This second shop was built using bricks and the roof was made of corrugated iron.
Our Profile
When Indongo founded his business, he primarily focused on the retail sector, with a vision to establish a network of shops, the magnitude of which was initially thought to be impossible. But with hard work and determination, he succeeded in doing just that.
Our Purpose
Symbolising Frans Indongo’s legacy, the Group is not only about the size of the organisation that originated from small beginnings, it is about the number of people it positively impacts, the contribution it makes to the Namibian economy and the drive with which it pursues a life of purpose.