HOW ADVENT CONSTRUCTION REMAINS AN INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZER
ADVENT CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION UNPARALLELED T
he past decade has witnessed a dramatic growth in the Tanzanian construction sector. In 2008, it accounted for only 8.8 percent of the country’s GDP – a figure which rose to 15.6 percent in the first quarter of 2018. One reason for this growth is the Tanzanian government’s current economic strategy to modernise the country through building more infrastructure, housing and energy developments. 2 | Africa Outlook issue 82
Advent Construction remains at the forefront of the Tanzanian civil and building industry thanks to its unwavering standards and staff empowerment programmes Written by: Dani Redd | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton
However, Tanzanian companies are not always the beneficiaries of this growth. The construction sector has been dominated by foreign contractors, some of whom have better access to materials and state subsidies, and can therefore tender better budgets. A second challenge is a shortage of local skilled talent – an issue faced by many sectors within a developing economy. Despite these challenges, Dhruv Jog,
LEADERSHIP FOCUS “All these goals – coupled with an overarching objective of increasing local capacity and developing skills within the country – mean that construction companies in Tanzania look forward to an exciting period of growth and capacity development.” Jog is also very much behind the current government’s anti-corruption drive, which he believes has levelled the playing field for construction companies. “Our current government’s zero tolerance policy to corruption and inefficiency has finally created an environment where competition is equal,” he continues. “It is only the quality of one’s project delivery and efficiency that decide how successful a construction company can be.” And Advent Construction is perfectly poised for success. “We have a 25-year-old heritage of transparency, best practice in compliance and first world standards of quality,” the Managing Director adds. Since its inception in 1995, Advent Construction has worked hard to become one of Tanzania’s largest, trusted and most well-respected construction firms. Now with a workforce of more than a thousand, it has worked on everything from large scale manufacturing works and infrastructure projects to boutique five-star lodges.
ABOUT ADVENT CONSTRUCTION Established in Dar es Salaam in 1995 and currently operating out of offices in Dar es Salaam (H.O) and branch offices in Kenya and Uganda, Advent is one of the region’s largest civil and building construction companies.It was the first construction firm in Tanzania to become ISO-certified, proof of a desire to meet global quality control standards. The company has participated in a variety of civil and building projects: port works, oil and gas supply bases and distribution hubs, airports, water distribution and storage projects, extraction sites, retail builds and much more. MISSION: To provide customers and stakeholders with an unparalleled service at every stage of their interaction with the company, resulting in the efficient delivery of a high-quality product. VISION: In the short term, to be the top solution for any construction-related activity in Africa. In the long term, to translate this vision to the global market, resulting in becoming a world construction leader.
Managing Director of Advent Construction, believes that the industry is a dynamic one to be involved in. “A strong population that incrementally grows into the middle class, a determined government that wants to expand the national infrastructure in every segment including roads, railways, water and airports, and a national strategy aimed at enabling the private sector to industrialise the nation – these are just some of the reasons why the Tanzanian construction sector is an exciting industry to be involved in at the moment,” he says. Africa Outlook issue 82 | 3
ADVENT CONSTRUCTION
It also performs the role of main contractor on large construction projects in Tanzania, acting as a local representative for global contracting groups, and bringing together multidisciplinary teams. So how has Advent succeeded in thriving for 25 years in a changing market? Jog believes it is down to the company’s adherence to high quality standards. “Advent has always been known for quality and reliability,” he says. “Those have been the cornerstones of the company’s success over the 25 years of its existence. 4 | Africa Outlook issue 82
“2020 is actually our 25th anniversary, and a year that we reinforce the foundations of our philosophy, while committing further to our mantra of constant innovation and consistent increase of our value proposition to our clients. “These underlying principles have helped ensure Advent is at the helm of progress in our sector, and is always an industry leader known for excellent quality, unequalled value for investment and a transparent and honest relationship with our clients in helping ensure their project development goals are always the priority.”
“HIGH GROWTH ENVIRONMENTS OFTEN CREATE SHORT TERM SUCCESS STORIES, BUT CONSISTENT DELIVERY OF QUALITY AND RELIABILITY IS WHAT CREATES A 100-YEAR BUSINESS” – DHRUV JOG, MANAGING DIRECTOR
LEADERSHIP FOCUS
CSR IN FOCUS
CHANIKA CHILDREN’S SHELTER Advent believes that taking care of children is the first step in taking care of the nation. So, for one of its many CSR contributions, the company partnered with the Human Welfare Trust to generate funds for Chanika Children’s Shelter, a home for street children. Advent funded a new dormitory, increasing housing capacity to 150. It also enabled construction of a library and community kitchen.
Jog is also aware of the importance of adhering to global standards of quality and best practice in such a technical industry as construction. In 2012, the company began its drive for ISO certification, which it achieved in 2015. While such international standardisation wasn’t well known in Tanzania, Jog believes it has allowed Advent to stand out from the pack, as the company is able to assure certified quality. Advent continues to renew its ISO certifications and comply with the latest standards, and currently remains the only construction company in
The firm hosted a Christmas party for 94 orphans at the children’s shelter, handing out school bags, clothes, shoes and other items that encourage children to stay in school. In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Advent was also a forerunner in engaging with the national crisis management committee and has allocated transport, storage and logistics resources to the Prime Minister’s office to help with the national drive to minimise the impact of the pandemic in Tanzania.
This year marks Advent Construction’s 25-year anniversary, a period which has seen it complete a large variety of projects Tanzania to be up to date with 2018 certifications in quality management, occupational health and safety and environmental management systems. “High growth environments often create short term success stories, but consistent delivery of quality and reliability is what creates a 100-year business,” the Managing Director comments. Jog believes another way to ensure the success and sustainability of a business is to invest in, and empower its staff. “Our staff are the key to our success, and our training and development Africa Outlook issue 82 | 5
ADVENT CONSTRUCTION
programmes are geared towards reinforcing that position,” he comments. “Staff development is consistently driven home as a key goal of the company, and the number of staff members who have grown to the top of their verticals by starting right from the bottom of the departments is amazing. “It gives us great pride to foster such an environment of growth, improvement and shared ownership and it is evident in the performance of the company as a whole.” Advent’s interest in empowerment extends beyond its staff to local communities. Indeed, the company is also proud of its participation in various corporate social responsibility programmes. 6 | Africa Outlook issue 82
“We have a strong CSR strategy that focusses on education and healthcare, as these are two of the key areas of development needed in our region,” says Jog. “We continue to invest in the regions we operate in to develop capacity and increase the living standards of the population of our country. “A great example is the classrooms we have built for Oysterbay Primary School and the ongoing school improvement project we have running in Zanzibar.”
Alongside direction donation programmes, Advent also engages in capacity development initiatives, providing training – and, subsequently, employment – for local communities. “We truly believe that the real development for our region will come from people being able to develop their talents and skills and therefore increase their living standards in a
LEADERSHIP FOCUS
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE AWARD Last year Advent Construction was recognised as one of the London Stock Exchange’s Companies to Inspire Africa, the only Tanzanian firm and sole East African construction company to achieve the accolade. “The award from the London Stock exchange as a Company to inspire Africa 2019 was an amazing recognition,” comments Jog. “Being one of the 60 companies finally chosen from the entire African continent, from an initial nomination list of over 4,000, and also being the only East African construction company on the list, made it that much more special!”
Dhruv Jog expects the the Tanzanian construction industry to grow strongly in the coming decade, a trend which bodes well for Advent Construction
sustainable manner, instead of relying on ad hoc assistance programmes,” Jog explains. After discussing Advent’s ambitious CSR schemes, the Managing Director moves on to reveal some ambitious plans for the future, including several important infrastructure projects to be launched towards the end of 2020. To facilitate these projects, the company is undertaking an aggressive expansion plan. It is currently investing into upgrading its already extensive fleet of plants and equipment, and bringing on board industry experts in the specific areas it seeks to grow into. “It is an exciting period in the growth path of the company and we are really looking forward to the successful execution of our five year strategy,”
Jog expresses confidently. Such a strategy is one of expansion and capacity building. Currently active in three East African countries, the Managing Director would like to increase that to five by Q4 of 2022. “We are working on enhancing project management capacity and the core strengths of the company to be able to scale to that level, while still maintaining our personal and close relationships with all our clients,” Jog says. “We are also enhancing our capacity into specialised areas of construction such as the water sector, and post-tensioned heavy RCC structures.” With its ambitious plans for expansion, cohesive training and development programmes and high, unre-
lenting standards of quality, the future looks bright for Advent – and it is therefore no surprise that Jog concludes our interview on a positive note. “We foresee extremely strong growth in the coming decade, and are very optimistic of coming closer to our corporate vision of being the solution for any construction-related needs across the African continent,” he says.
ADVENT CONSTRUCTION Tel: +255 22 2701093 info@adventconstructions.com www.adventconstructions.com
Africa Outlook issue 82 | 7
ADVENT CONSTRUCTION Advent Construction Ltd Headquarters Plot 132, Advent Avenue, Mikocheni Industrial Area Mwenge, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: +255 22 2701093 info@adventconstructions.com www.adventconstructions.com PRODUCED BY AFRICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE