Ohlthaver & List Group

Ohlthaver & List Group (OL or O&L), formally Ohlthaver & List Finance and Trading Corporation Limited, is one of Namibia’s largest privately held groups of companies. It traces its origins to 1919, when Hermann Ohlthaver and Carl List formed the Ohlthaver & List Bank Kommission partnership. The entity was reconstituted as Ohlthaver & List Limited in 1923 and remains headquartered in Windhoek.

The Group employs approximately 5,500 to over 6,000 people across 12 major subsidiaries that span eight sectors of the Namibian economy. It contributes roughly 2% to national GDP, invests substantially in local capital projects, and prioritises high levels of local procurement. Annual revenues have recently exceeded N$5 billion.

Its diversified portfolio covers food production and processing (including dairies and meat products such as Hartlief), fishing and aquaculture, retail (Model brand stores), property development and management (including Wernhil Park), leisure and hospitality, information technology, marine engineering, steelworks, advertising, and renewable energy initiatives such as green hydrogen projects.

OL is guided by a clear purpose—“Creating a future, Enhancing life”—and an organisational persona built on being authentic, caring and passionate. These principles shape its culture, stakeholder interactions and commitment to sustainable development across Namibia and beyond.

Historically the Group expanded through strategic acquisitions, including early breweries that formed the basis of Namibia Breweries Limited (sold to Heineken in 2023), fishing operations, farms, engineering works and later retail and hospitality assets. Recent years have seen further portfolio optimisation, technology investments and moves into renewable energy.

Under the leadership of Executive Chairman and CEO Dr. Sven Thieme, and controlled ultimately by the Werner List Trust, OL is pursuing Vision 2029. This strategy targets industry-standard profitability and returns, N$2.5 billion in Group EBIT, a top-10 global Great Place to Work ranking, and a strong internal Persona score, reinforcing its role as a proudly African, Namibia-rooted enterprise.