Policy brief · Succession
Succession in family-owned firms: building institutions that outlive their founders
Family businesses are the backbone of many African economies, yet too few survive the transition to the next generation. Succession is a leadership task, not a legal one.
ACLT Research & AdvisoryPolicy brief
6 Oct 2026
7 min read
Family-owned businesses are the backbone of many African economies — and too many of them do not survive the founder. The cause is rarely the market. It is the absence of a deliberate succession plan, started early and led by the founder.
Succession is a leadership task
Wills and shareholder agreements matter, but they settle ownership, not leadership. The harder work is preparing people — family and non-family — to lead, and preparing the founder to let them.
Five practices that work
- Start ten years early. Succession is a decade-long programme, not a handover event.
- Separate family, ownership and management. Each needs its own forum and rules.
- Professionalise the board. Independent directors bring perspective and protect the business from family tensions.
- Develop the next generation outside the firm first. Experience elsewhere builds credibility and judgement.
- Define the founder’s next role. Founders let go more easily when they know where they are going.
Legacy thinking
The baobab grows for generations. The best founders we work with measure their decisions by the next generation, not the next quarter — and build institutions, not just careers.
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