African wealth is most often created through entrepreneurship, according to respondents from five countries in a continent-wide research exercise conducted by Intellidex and sponsored by Standard Bank.
The “right idea” is the most common element in terms of driving entrepreneurial success in Africa. This is followed by timing and having the right team. Finance is often cited as the least important element.
The research, released in an online presentation on 12 August, was conducted in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Mauritius. It had two phases: a comprehensive survey was completed by 265 high net worth Africans; Intellidex then conducted in-depth interviews with 75 respondents (65 from South Africa, 56 from Nigeria, 56 from Kenya, 53 from Ghana and 36 from Mauritius).
The majority of respondents had net asset values of between US1$m and $2m; though 25 of the respondents were worth more than $100m.
Other key findings include:
- Across all the countries, the real estate industry is prevalent for wealth creation – it ranked first or second in each country.
- Property is also the predominant asset class for their investments in all countries except South Africa, where equities dominate.
- In Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, wealth creation is primarily driven by entrepreneurship but in South African and Mauritius, the majority of respondent’s wealth was created through executive careers.
- In Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, the majority of respondents described themselves as executives who are also entrepreneurs.
- In South Africa, Ghana and Kenya, the political environment is cited as the biggest risk to wealth. In Nigeria and Mauritius it is personal safety and security.
- Younger respondents were less concerned about the political environment but more worried about their personal security and safety than the older generation. They were also less bothered by stock market volatility and global economic changes.
Further important findings related to wealth preservation, philanthropy and inter-generational wealth are also fleshed out in the study.
To download the full report, click here.
Access the presentation slides here.
