next gen

Next-generation members of family businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of installing outsiders in senior roles, according to a report.

Although nine out of ten next gens have, or expect to have, a governance role themselves in the business, many believe an external hire may be able to contribute more, according to PwC’s Great Expectations: The Next Generation of Family Business Leaders.

Keeping a business afloat through two rounds of north-south civil war is no easy task. Imagine then the challenges of building out a marketing department in the same environment. Yet at the Elnefeidi Group, one of Sudan’s most prominent family-owned conglomerates, marketing has been a staple for more than 80 years.

At a time when the world is gearing up for the largest wealth transfer in history and entrepreneurial teenagers are making millions from their basements, wealth managers and family offices are seeking ways to serve an increasingly youthful client base.

The dynamic change has brought with it a greater focus on technology. A tech-savvy generation are open to wealth management services that don’t require face-to-face interaction and prefer to manage their investments through user-friendly financial software.

It’s actually a little difficult to describe Surya Capital because in many ways my partners and I are trying to do something innovative and different, more akin to the 19th-century merchant bank, but in east Africa. Surya is a deal-by-deal principal investment firm, backed by a group of family offices and institutions. It is focused on high-growth markets in east Africa, including Ethiopia.