“Our brand claim ‘Solutions. For Life’ is a perfect fit for Africa.”
Hendrik Wulfmeyer has been KSB’s Regional Head of East Africa in Nairobi for the past two years. In an interview with Stream of Stories, he explains why water is the starting point for everything in East Africa, what he is learning from working with local teams and customers – and why the KSB brand claim “Solutions. For Life” is something he experiences there every day.
Stream of Stories: Mr Wulfmeyer, you moved to Kenya with your family two years ago to work there for KSB. How did your wife and daughter react when you told them about the job offer in Africa?
Hendrik Wulfmeyer: At first, their reaction was somewhat lukewarm. We were content with our life in Germany – I was happy in my position at KSB at the time; my wife was working as a judge, we had a house in the countryside in Rohrbach, Hesse, and a dog. A good German life, which some might describe as bourgeois. However, I always felt as though I’d missed out on something because I’d never lived abroad – not after my apprenticeship, not during my studies and not afterwards either. When the opportunity arose, we said: Let's go for it!
From Rohrbach to Nairobi – that’s a huge change! What were your impressions when you visited the region for the first time?
The first thing I noticed was the chaos on the streets: People drive however they want, overtaking on both the left and the right. You also see a great deal of poverty alongside extreme wealth. And above all, everything is colourful: The minibus taxis, known as matatus, are colourful; the cars are colourful; the people’s clothes are colourful. The women wear braids – synthetic hair that they weave into their own hair in a wide variety of colours and styles. This diversity is fascinating. I just said to myself: “Wow. Everything here is just completely different to Germany.“
And as time goes by, you realise that somehow it all works. Despite the chaos on the roads, people still manage to get from A to B. Many things just work in a different way. That was an important experience for me: You have to learn to understand local realities rather than comparing them to you own standards.
From brewer to manager: Hendrik Wulfmeyer
Hendrik Wulfmeyer knows the pump industry from many different perspectives. Following his apprenticeship as a brewer, he completed his secondary school leaving certificate [Abitur] and progressed from positions in internal sales, field sales and key account management to strategic management roles. Since May 2024, he has been the Managing Director of KSB in Kenya and is based in Nairobi. He is also responsible for the development of KSB’s business in the East Africa region.
You are the Regional Head of the East Africa region. Could you describe the countries and markets for which you are responsible?
The region is home to over 300 million people – almost as many as there are in the USA. The population is growing rapidly and is very young: Over 30 percent of the population belong to Generation Z. Of course, much of the country is underdeveloped and there is a lack of infrastructure and industry. But we are talking about a huge number of people who drink, eat, work and want to improve their living conditions – and who need water and better infrastructure in order to do this. That’s what makes it such an incredibly dynamic region.
We oversee ten countries in East Africa. Five of these are focus countries in which we conduct the majority of our business: Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. Then there are also other markets such as Burundi, South Sudan, parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Eritrea. We see opportunities there, although the political and economic conditions are often more challenging. In these ten countries, we offer products for the water, industrial, mining and building services sectors as well as related services. We generate around 70 percent of our sales revenue from water applications.
Why is water such an important issue in East Africa?
As the population is growing, the water supply and infrastructure need to be expanded in the suburbs and rural communities. However, this doesn't concern the infrastructure in the cities, where the water supply is generally already good. It’s an important issue across the whole region – pumping stations and water treatment plants are needed everywhere.
But you can’t think of the water supply in terms of the way it is in Europe, where water comes out of the tap in every home. Our core business is basically pumping stations located far outside the cities, in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes our service engineers have to wade through rivers and carry their toolboxes on their heads to get there. The pumping station supplies a water station with a tank and a tap. You see children and women walking to the water station with yellow jerrycans to fetch water. A communal water station like this can supply 150 to 200 households.
KSB’s brand claim “Solutions. For Life” is therefore a perfect fit for East Africa, because every development begins with water. Where there is water, there is life. That may sound a bit melodramatic, but in East Africa you see just how true this is every day.
How is KSB structured in the East Africa region?
We have a total of 34 employees. Most of them are based in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. We have a sales office, a service workshop and a warehouse here. We also have three employees in Rwanda, two sales representatives in Ethiopia and one colleague in Tanzania. And we will be hiring another employee in Uganda this year.
It is important to have local staff in every country who speak the local language. Europeans underestimate just how different the countries in Africa are and how strong their national identities are. People do not see themselves as Africans, but as Kenyans, Rwandans or Ugandans. That’s really important to them, also for language reasons. When we send colleagues from Kenya to Uganda, they naturally speak English with the customers there. But they are not fellow countrymen. It’s a bit like a German selling something in France: It is accepted, but it is not the same as when a French person speaks to a French customer.
“Where there is water, there is life – in East Africa you see just how true this is every day.”
Hendrik Wulfmeyer
What would you say your biggest challenge is there?
One major challenge we face is that there is little understanding of maintenance. Cars are often driven until they’re completely falling apart, and then only repaired enough to make them run, albeit rather shakily. The same goes for pumps. They are used for a long time without maintenance, even if their performance drops to 70 percent. When the pump finally stops working, a spare part or a new product is needed fast. And fast means now! Of course, this is difficult if the pumps are custom-made – that's a challenge for our service business.
It’s an issue that we as a team have to battle with: Convincing customers that, besides new pumps, there are also such things as servicing and predictive maintenance. We do lots of marketing about this and are in regular contact with the relevant people.
Another challenge is finding the right staff. Although there are universities, there is no training available for trades that do not require a degree. If parents want their son to become a welder, after leaving school they send him to an acquaintance who knows how to weld for three months. He’ll then perhaps apply to work for us. But we have no way of assessing his abilities. Before we hire someone, we have to put them through their paces and see what they’re really capable of.
How do you intend to develop the region for KSB in the future?
For me, there are five key points. Firstly, we need the right people – and we need to help them develop, for example through training programmes, courses or study programmes in which KSB is involved.
Secondly, we want to expand our service business. We have a growing installed base of pumps in the region. This presents significant opportunities to incorporate servicing, spare parts and predictive maintenance more firmly into the business.
Thirdly, we want to ramp up our standard business, for example with borehole pumps. A classic use case would be when a well is drilled in a dry region and a pump supplies water to a community. That's our bread-and-butter business.
Fourthly, we want to be closer to the customers in the markets – with local employees who understand the language, culture and market.
And fifthly, we need to raise our profile and become more visible: within associations, on LinkedIn, at trade fairs and through our direct market presence.
Has your time in East Africa changed you personally?
Yes, of course. My self-confidence and my intercultural communication skills have improved. I’d say that I live more modestly and I’m quicker to question myself when I complain about things. When you see the problems some people here have to live with, it seems out of proportion to get worked up if occasionally there’s no water or the car breaks down.
You’ve told us about your business objectives. Do you have any personal goals?
I’d like to make the most of my time here to learn, experience and discover as much as possible. One of my greatest personal wishes is to go gorilla tracking. And professionally, I would like to continue delivering “Solutions. For Life” on the ground here. Of course, KSB is not a charity; the aim is to operate a successful business in East Africa. But it’s a great feeling when your work has real purpose and helps people at the same time.
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