With vast renewable energy resources, Southern Africa is well positioned to leverage private sector technology to advance electricity access. In an interview with Energy Capital & Power, Andrea Barry, Group Strategy Director at the Pupkewitz Group of Companies, underscored the potential of small- to mid-sized renewable systems in the region.
How does The Pupkewitz Group structure its diverse portfolio of products and services?
The Pupkewitz Group has been operating in Namibia for over a century, actively pursuing opportunities for continued growth across multiple sectors. Our largest involvement is in the construction industry, with our oldest subsidiary MegaBuild, specializing in retail and wholesale distribution of building materials, hardware and DIY products and serving both business-to-business and business-to-customer markets. Additionally, our sister company, MegaTech, operates as a more specialized entity, focusing on electrical and renewable energy products. Despite being relatively young, MegaTech is our fastest-growing subsidiary, experiencing remarkable growth. This success is attributed to its outstanding product and service offerings in the energy sector and a successful cross-border expansion strategy.
Namibia has some of the world’s best solar irradiation resources, making it an ideal location for solar installations and driving increased demand for renewable energy products such as solar panels, batteries and inverters. This prompted us to create specialized “green” stores dedicated to renewable energy products. Meanwhile, our Pupkewitz Motor Division represents 10 different vehicle franchises with branches across the country. We also operate an aftermarket parts division and offer vehicle accessories. As the largest automotive group in the country, we are responsible for roughly one in every three and a half car sales nationwide. According to the latest figures, the Pupkewitz Group contributes 3.3% of the Namibian GDP by turnover.
How was Megatech able to penetrate the renewables market in Namibia? Are there plans for regional expansion?
Being a very sparsely populated country, Namibia faces challenges in extending the national electricity grid to reach every remote area. We were among the pioneering first movers in recognizing the importance of making quality and affordable solar products accessible to retail customers and solar installers, for small- to medium-sized systems. Our dedicated renewable energy stores are spread across the country, serving both urban and rural areas. We recognize the importance of availability not only in Windhoek and coastal regions, but also in the northern parts of the country. We are currently expanding into Central Namibia to ensure easy access across all the regions of Namibia.
More recently, we were granted a coveted distribution license for Jinko solar into some of the SADC countries, including South Africa. Jinko is one of the largest manufacturers of solar panels in the world and this license makes us one of only five Jinko distributors for South Africa. This is quite an accomplishment for a Namibian company and is the result of our persistent efforts, as well as the prevailing energy crisis in South Africa. Unfortunately, extensive load shedding in South Africa means that the ports have been severely disrupted. To give an example, in recent months, we had two identical containers of solar panels shipped from China on the same vessel, stopping in Cape Town to drop the first container, then continuing onto Walvis Bay to drop the second. We managed to clear the second container through the Walvis Bay Port and move the products to Windhoek, while the first container remained held up at the Cape Town Port. We are now pushing solar panels down through Namibia into South Africa, as it’s a more efficient route.
The Namibian government has long held aspirations for Namibia to become a regional logistics hub, resulting in substantial investments in the development of the Walvis Bay Port – transforming it into a deep water port and connecting Namibia to its five neighboring countries. In fulfillment of this ambition, MegaTech has demonstrated the success of this approach for South Africa, and is furthering this through export to Angola. Botswana and Zambia are still nascent markets for us, but are very much part of the strategy within the next one to two years. Plans are underway to expand MegaTech’s retail branch footprint into neighboring countries in the coming years too.
How do you see The Pupkewitz Group’s role in the energy sector evolving, as Namibia enters a new phase in its energy development?
Within the energy sector, our primary focus has centered on two key areas:
- Providing Low and Medium Voltage electrical products to electrical contractors, the electrical utility (Nampower) and the Regional Energy Distributors. These products, including underground cable, line material miniature substation and transformers, play a crucial role in rural electrification efforts, significantly improving access to energy.
- Providing renewable energy products to solar photovoltaic and green hydrogen projects. We are actively involved in supporting the development of Namibia’s green hydrogen pilot projects, such as the Daures Green Hydrogen project that aims to produce 350,000 tons of green ammonia and has a broader agricultural focus.
Nevertheless, we are exploring opportunities to diversify further into the energy sector. For instance, in 2020, we joined an international consortium to bid on the 20 MW Khan Solar Project, a tender put forth by NamPower. This experience has been a valuable learning curve, helping us gain insights into the evolving industry landscape. We observed that the very early-stage solar projects were often highly profitable from an investment perspective. However, as governments tighten regulations and cheaper capital enters the equation, profit margins are squeezed, leading to reduced equity returns. Consequently, we’ve decided to shift our focus away from participating in these large-scale government tenders. To position ourselves effectively in these ventures, it’s crucial for us to understand their requirements and identify where in the value chain we can add value and leverage our unique competitive advantages. Our ethos in the energy sector revolves around building skills and generating genuine value through partnerships.
Energy Capital & Power is a strategic partner of the Namibia International Energy Conference (NIEC) – taking place in Windhoek on April 23-25, 2024. The 6th annual conference unites industry leaders, business executives and policymakers to engage in dialogue, exchange ideas, create new partnerships and identify strategies to foster a prosperous energy industry in Namibia and beyond. For more information, please visit https://www.nieconference.com/
