Good day, and welcome to the inaugural Ant Consult blog post; incidentally my first blog post ever. I am Jon Kirkman, the founder of Ant Consult. The beginning of the idea that has become Ant Consult can be traced back to my days as a student. I had the vague sense that I would start a business that would break new ground. Since then, I have gained a degree in Agricultural Engineering, Professional Engineer certification and significant experience in the water and agricultural engineering industries. I love the work, and nothing lights my fire like finding a sexy solution to a complex, non-standard problem.

Along the way, I have become aware of certain dynamics at play in the Southern African consulting industry. There are many highly skilled practising consulting engineers, and some world class firms on the scene. Despite this, there are still gaps in the services and products offered:

• There are few to no consulting engineering products or services available on the market that appeal to large, sub-corporate agricultural operations in Southern Africa. Most consulting business models and services are designed around governmental or large corporate type projects.
  

• The value proposition of consulting engineers is not often immediately apparent to potential clients. This is particularly true for agricultural operations, which tend to rely on contractors for both design and installation services.
  

• As a result of the above, consulting services are almost always a grudge purchase for businesses, usually made to satisfy a corporate risk management policy or legislative requirement.
  

The interplay of these dynamics crystallised the idea behind Ant Consult in my mind, turning it from a student’s hazy idea into a business plan. Ant Consult aims to provide services to clients in the agricultural and water engineering space. A service designed for and around you, not a faceless large organisation. I am confident that every service Ant Consult offers will assist in mitigating risk and making your operation more profitable and sustainable, both environmentally and financially.

My long-term vision for Ant Consult is a future where we work alongside you, not as a grudge purchase, but as a valued partner, providing technical assistance in building your operation into a legacy that you will be proud of. I look forward to working with you in the future.

‍