Kennedy Nzimande believes the African continent has significant growth potential and, with the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), is well positioned to increase exports into the developed markets of North America and Europe.
UL certifies, validates, tests, verifies and inspects manufactured products, industrial equipment and operating processes, and audits and advises companies in key high-tech sectors. Its parent company was established 120 years ago and now operates on every continent.
“At UL southern Africa, we have a vision of Africa’s future in which the continent is able to take up its rightful place as an innovative, productive and developed region in the global marketplace,” says Nzimande. “We aim to make a significant contribution to that process by combining global expertise with local know-how in order to ensure that industrial installations and the products produced at this installation are of world-class quality.”
UL operates in various sectors, including certification in electrotechnical manufacturing, the payment industry and medical devices, as well as consulting services and software in chemical handling and global market access. Technical due diligence is offered in the renewable energy space.
Nzimande, who was born in Durban and now lives in Johannesburg, was responsible for spearheading UL’s entry into the sub-Saharan market in 2015. He has a BCom from the University of Zululand and an MBA from Nyrenrode Business University in the Netherlands. He has also completed the Management Development Programme at the Wits Business School and the Advanced Management Leadership Programme at Oxford University’s Said Business School. Quietly unassuming, he embodies UL’s mission in a very real way, bringing both international skills and local knowledge to the task of making southern Africa’s industries and the products they make safe.
“An important focus for us is to facilitate market access into and from markets throughout Africa and around the world,” he says. “In order to be globally competitive, local industries and products need to meet international safety and quality standards – and it’s our mission to enable them to do this.”
UL offers a comprehensive and integrated range of services to help manufacturers gain the compliance credentials they need in order to compete in the global marketplace, providing the expertise necessary to navigate growing complexities throughout the supply chain.
In southern Africa, the company is particularly active in the renewable energy and transaction security sectors. In the former, it believes Africa has the potential to leapfrog developed countries still locked into traditional methods of energy generation and to embrace the renewable energy revolution from the ground up.
For more information visit www.ul.co.za
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