The inaugural Family Wealth Conference, Thursday in Lagos, concluded with a message to African business leaders and families on proactive succession planning and strong legacy preservation as critical to the continent’s economic future.
Organised by the NewsDirect media group, the event brought together a diverse group of experts, business owners and financial professionals.
The conference directly addressed the alarming trend of family-owned businesses collapsing after the death of their founders.
In his welcome address, publisher and executive director of NewsDirect, Prince Mathew Adesegun Ibiyemi, shared his personal journey of taking over his family’s business at age 20 after the loss of the media company’s founder and his father, Late Prince Samuel Ibiyemi.
He highlighted a common African narrative of businesses built with passion in one generation often disappearing in the next, leading to family disputes and the loss of potential.
“Businesses that should have outlived their founders disappear, estates that should empower children end in disputes,” Ibiyemi stated, stating the conference’s goal to equip attendees with practical strategies to turn family wealth into a blessing, not a burden.
He also seized the opportunity to disclose the winner of the N500, 000 grant awarded in conjunction with the Samuel Folorunsho Ibiyemi Foundation.
The grant was awarded to Mr Oluwatobi Oladeji Mathew, an entrepreneur and book seller based in Ibadan, Oyo state.
Delivering his keynote address, Mr G. O. Lawal, co-founder and CEO of COACT, distinguished between temporary riches and true, lasting wealth.
He argued that while riches are fleeting, wealth is defined by its ability to multiply and create lasting impact through a foundation of value, knowledge and legacy.