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African family businesses

June 19, 2018

Third-generation Mohammed “Mo” Dewji transformed his father’s modest trading company into MeTL Group, a conglomerate aiming to become a $5 billion cornerstone of the African economy. The Wall Street rookie turned Giving Pledge philanthropist tells Mfonobong Nsehe what powers his ambition, why China can’t compete, and how his close family balances work and life

Third-generation Mohammed “Mo” Dewji transformed his father’s modest trading company into MeTL Group, a conglomerate aiming to become a $5 billion cornerstone of the African economy. The Wall Street rookie turned Giving Pledge philanthropist tells Mfonobong Nsehe what powers his ambition, why China can’t compete, and how his close family balances work and life

Breaking through: Wafa Elnefeidi

February 5, 2016

Marketing your family business in a war-torn country might sound like a heavy cross to bear, but for Wafa Elnefeidi, third-generation general manager at Sudan’s Elnefeidi Group, the main challenge stems from gender inequality.

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.

Scrambling for Africa: Riaz Currimjee's private equity firm

July 8, 2015

When Riaz Currimjee, a member of one of the oldest and largest industrial family conglomerates in Mauritius, returned home for Christmas wearing a t-shirt with “Africa is the Future” emblazoned across the chest, many of his family thought he’d lost the plot. So when the 42-year-old announced he was going to focus his new private equity firm Surya Capital on the birthplace of mankind he got more than a few odd looks.

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.

Business and giving: the emerging wealth

October 10, 2014

Asia, the Middle East and Africa are currently some of the fastest growing economies in the world. Now a new report profiles what makes the regions’ high net worth business owners tick.

Founded in 1974, Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics empire, already has revenues of $131.8 billion (€104.4 billion). It’s not a consumer brand, but its electrical components power iPhones, Kindles and Playstations, among other gadgets. Still in the hands of its founder, Terry Gou, the company is an example of the way private business can exploit the skyrocketing economies of developing regions.

Sol Kerzner gives up family empire eight years after death of heir apparent

April 14, 2014

South African hotelier Sol Kerzner, 78, has announced his retirement from the hotel industry and the sale of a stake in his eponymous company, eight years after the death of his son and heir apparent.

South African hotelier Sol Kerzner, 78, has announced his retirement from the hotel industry and the sale of a stake in his eponymous company, eight years after the death of his son and heir apparent.

Last week the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), an arm of the United Arab Emirates government, confirmed it had bought a “significant” equity interest in the hotel group, which includes the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and the One&Only resort chain.

Family business roundup: Massmart and America Movil

August 12, 2013

Wal-Mart mulls buyout of one of several family-owned supermarkets in Kenya; and America Movil moves to buy remaining shares in Royal KPN.

Massmart
South Africa’s Massmart Holdings, a unit of Wal-Mart, is considering the buyout of one of several family-owned retailers in Kenya, as it tries to make inroads into the African nation.

According to Nairobi-based newspaper Business Daily, Naivas, Tuskys and Nakumatt, the family-owned businesses that dominate the sector, are the main targets for the food and household-goods retailer.