Focused on providing trusted and comprehensive solutions and training through their deep expertise and leveraging of geospatial technology, Oakar Services is committed to delivering spatial solutions that enable their clients to become high-performing businesses. At the heart of their service provision is the empowerment of their clients to optimize their business efficiency and realize tangible impact in their industry. Through their innovative geospatial solutions allied with technical support and training Oakar Services aim to expand the utilization of geospatial technology to become an integral part of business operations and evolution. In doing so, they will make a significant contribution to the modernization of Eastern Africa, and the advancement of both the public and private sector.
Under the leadership of Eric Nyadimo, who is the Managing Director of Oakar Services Limited, the company is committed to providing GIS, Remote Sensing, and other related geospatial consultancy services including tools for the most suitable solutions in modelling, planning, designing, executing, monitoring, and managing projects and resources across geographical space. Surv. Nyadimo is a full Member of the Institution of Surveyor of Kenya (MISK), a Licensed Surveyor LS(K) and the current President of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK).
While committed to fulfilling its vision of being the foremost company in Africa delivering cutting-edge geospatial consultancy services and customised professional training, in an exclusive interview, Surv. Nyadimo talks about a 25 years’ journey that has proven to be worthy and the efforts that the company put in place have worked!
AS: Give us a brief introduction about Oakar Services Limited
EN: Oakar Services is a geospatial consulting firm that was established in May 1998. It delivers comprehensive products and services in GIS, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery and Surveying services to its customers within Eastern Africa.
AS: What are your main service solutions and what industries do you serve?
EN: Over the years our main products have been the provision of geospatial software and hardware. However, with the advent of Covid 19 this changed and provision of surveying services as well as application development are emerging as our leading products. We still aim for a balanced portfolio but these are largely dictated by market requirements. The main industry we serve is government though the private sector is also growing.
AS: 25 years ago when the company was formed, what was the most challenging part of creating a successful practice?
EN: The main challenge at that time was whether the business would be sustainable or not. Getting finance, setting up an office, introducing new products and giving confidence to the market was a challenge. We however got good support from various international partners who believed in our dream and supported us through.
Back then the market was very different, it was mainly dominated by International Organizations and Donor Agencies. Seeing that we have been there for 25 years shows that we were right and the efforts that we put in place have worked.
AS: Is the company today what you imagined it would be in 1998? How is it different?
EN: The company has changed a lot. We started mainly as a software solutions provider and then slowly moved into data and hardware. We have worked and continue to working with leading geospatial companies in the world such as Esri, Hexagon, Trimble, VertiGIS, Maxar, Planet and Vexcel.
We have expanded our solutions team and we are building beautiful applications that we are increasingly deploying to server the market. Our Survey services has also greatly expanded and improving day by day. We continue to see growth in revenue and partnerships with industry leading providers of hardware and software. However, this journey was greatly hampered by the Covid pandemic and we are striving hard to recover our footing to enable us scale greater heights.
AS: How is the company balancing cutting-edge services, efficiency and utilization of modern surveying technology for every project?
EN: We have a team of young and vibrant professionals that are fast learners and skilled in employing the latest trends in technology. The team is also comprised of robust and diversified expertise to provide the skills and knowledge required in various aspects of the industries that we deal with. Over the years, we have developed guidelines that serve as templates to specific projects to enhance consistency.
AS: What do you believe to have been your biggest service delivery success over the 25 years?
EN: Customer Support – We strive to offer all our clients support from installation of software and training on how to use equipment. The support does not end after the purchase of a product or service; we are on call to offer assistance to our clients at all times. Our sales team is also dedicated to physical client visits for user assessment and technical support.
AS: What are your remarkable projects that you have been involved in?
EN: National Agricultural and Rural Growth and Inclusive Program (NARIGP) – Working in collaboration with the World Bank we have been able to map farmers across selected counties within the country using our own Geospatial Mapping Systems (GMS). The GMS provides a centralized system for farmer data collection, analysis and visualization. This facilitates the counties to provide extension services to the farmers at ease.
Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP) – through the State Department of Housing and Urban Development and with support from the World Bank, we were able to map forty (40) selected informal settlements within 13 counties in Kenya in 2022. This formed a basis for the department in planning to improve the livelihoods of the people living in the informal settlements through tenure regularization and infrastructure development.
Ministry of Education – Working with USAID and Ministry of Education in 2007 we were able to map 72,500 educational institutions allover Kenya thus creating the first GIS database of schools in Kenya. The mapping was done in a record 106 days that brought us to the limelight as a company that can deliver on its obligations.
AS: What direction do you see the company taking in the next ten years, if you had to guess?
EN: We are looking to reinforce our Unmanned Aerial Surveys (UAS). We are also looking at scaling up our solutions development. We are breaking ground in building and deploying desktop, mobile and web applications. With reinforced investment we are looking at emerging as a leading software and application developer in the next 10 years.
