Worried by Africa’s longstanding challenge of losing privately generated wealth to offshore financial centres, experts have warned that the continent cannot accelerate development without building stronger systems that keep capital circulating at home.
This was the crux of discussions at a media parley in Lagos, organised by 7 Generations Institute’s (7GI) in partnership with United Nations Development Programme UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, the Africa Prosperity Summit, African Philanthropy Forum and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Stakeholders argued that the absence of well-governed Family Offices continues to weaken Africa’s capacity to fund its own entrepreneurs, infrastructure and innovation.
Described as Africa’s first coordinated effort to reshape how families and institutions mobilise private wealth for development, the event emphasised how true Family Offices are emerging globally as holistic governance systems that strengthen families, preserve and grow wealth, and steward capital toward inclusive development.
Founder and Executive Chairman of 7 Generations Africa and 7GI, Barry Johnson, described a True Family Office as a governance structure that anchors a family’s values, relationships, decision-making, well-being and next-generation readiness. “When families govern these domains well, their money becomes better governed. Well-governed capital then becomes catalytic, supporting entrepreneurs, strengthening national systems, and advancing the continent’s development priorities,” he said.
7GI outlined a theory of change showing why Family Offices matter beyond wealthy households: when families are well-governed, their capital is well-governed; when capital is well-governed, it is deployed more responsibly and productively; and when private African capital is deployed with purpose, economies become more resilient.
He noted that African families, when equipped with formal governance structures, could play a decisive role in national development, entrepreneurship, innovation and long-term economic stability. He said Family Office capital offers distinct advantages, including cultural intelligence, patient and blended capital, early-stage risk appetite and the ability to move independently of bureaucracy and political cycles.
Obstacles limiting the establishment of Family Offices across the region, such as regulatory ambiguity, limited awareness, a lack of expert guidance and the historic tendency to export wealth offshore, were also highlighted.
Executive Director of 7GI, Sarah Stephen, stated that strengthening family governance could reverse this trend and redirect capital to African-led ventures while enabling families to invest abroad in ways that bring value back to the continent.
“We create environments that help families learn, connect, and appreciate the catalytic role they are needed to play. Most wealthy families worldwide lose their wealth within three generations. When African families build True Family Offices, they preserve their wealth and intentionally reinvest it back into the continent. Lagos showed how ready leaders are to design African solutions for African ambitions,” she said.
The Lagos convening followed an earlier stop in Nairobi on November 3 and is the second in a 15-country tour aimed at building the policy frameworks, capacity and demand required to support the rise of true family offices across Africa.
Upcoming engagements include Cape Town, Kigali, Rabat and Abidjan, alongside plans for a continental Family Office Learning Network to deepen peer exchange and technical development.
