- Entrepreneurs who participated in the survey said they made their first million dollars from entrepreneurship.
- The survey was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa.
A report released by Standard Bank has shown that in Africa, wealth is not inherited but rather made.
According to the report, which has 265 respondents, entrepreneurship was found to be the most common option Africans used to create wealth.
Per the survey, not less than 148 of the 265 said they made their first million dollars and continue to make more from entrepreneurship.
The survey was conducted in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa.
Group Head, Standard Bank Wealth and Investment, Chris Browne, said, “to draw a more complete picture of the wealth sector in Africa, a total of 265 respondents were surveyed and 75 face-to-face interviews conducted across five key markets — Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa — with the estimated net worth of 67% of participants in the $1 million to $5 million range. Around 16% of respondents had an estimated net worth of $5 million to $20 million. At the same time, the researchers from our partners, Intellidex, also canvassed those with $20 million to more than $100 million in net worth.”
The report showed that 38% of high-net-worth individuals in the survey were between the ages of 36 to 50 years.
Most entrepreneurs who took part in the survey had businesses in real estate, construction, trade, financial services, manufacturing, oil and gas, technology, and the retail sector.
Respondents from Kenya (38%), followed by Mauritius (29%), Ghana (26%), and Nigeria (23%), mentioned tangible assets as the most preferred asset class for wealth preservation.
In South Africa, the rich (51%) preferred to preserve their wealth in stocks or equities. However, tangible assets such as property were comparatively less important (18%).
A shopkeeper puts money in her cash box at her shop in Hillcrest west of Durban, South Africa, January 11, 2016.
Out of the five countries surveyed, respondents from Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya were most likely to mention entrepreneurship as the main driver of wealth creation. However, respondents from South Africa and Mauritius were more likely to opt for a traditional corporate career in a bid to attain financial freedom. This could be attributed to the more developed financial systems of the two countries.
According to the report, the qualities Of Africa’s wealthy are entrepreneurialism, eclecticism, conservative attitude to spending wealth, workaholism, and strength in diversification.
What worries Africa’s wealthy the most
The report indicated that the main concerns of Africa’s wealthy are political instability and personal security.
It explained that it is very difficult to make informed investment decisions if one knows the long-term visibility of the policy environment. They bear in mind that a volatile political climate can dramatically affect the value of assets.
The wealthy in most markets surveyed see the political environment as a significant risk to wealth preservation. 82% of South Africans said it was of concern, followed by Ghanaians (67%), Nigerians (64%), and Kenyans (55%). By contrast, only 31% of Mauritian respondents saw the political environment as a threat.
