A PwC survey found only 25% of Nigerian family-business respondents had a robust, documented and communicated succession plan, raising questions about who controls companies when leadership changes.
Separately, 50% reported having no governance policies. PwC gathered responses from Oct. 5 to Dec. 11, 2020, for its 2021 Nigeria Family Business Survey. The findings record whether respondents had plans at the time; they do not measure the outcome of later wealth transfers.
PwC’s 2025 Africa Family Business Survey found that 66% of its 79 respondents reported single- or double-digit sales growth in their latest financial year. Conducted from April to June 2025, that survey covered businesses across Africa. The two surveys’ different groups and periods do not establish a trend in Nigerian succession planning.
The newer report recommends defining which decisions belong to family members, company boards and managers. It also calls for a review of ownership, trusts and other asset arrangements before a handover. Those questions concern control of a business as well as the assets it holds.
Richa Bahl, Family Enterprise Advisory Leader, Partner, PwC Canada, addressed that distinction in an Oct. 1 analysis. “The strongest succession plans don't start with who will take over,” she said. PwC advises families to make separate decisions about who will own a business and who will manage it. It says a family charter can set rules for decisions without guaranteeing agreement.
A sponsored BusinessDay article published Oct. 19 urged families to formalize how assets pass between generations and promoted Coronation Trustees Limited’s services. Coronation offers wills and trusts, giving it a commercial interest in encouraging such arrangements.
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission lists Coronation as an active trustee. The company offers family and endowment trusts and describes a trustee’s role as managing assets for beneficiaries. Coronation says establishing a trust has an initial cost, may involve ongoing management fees and has tax consequences that depend on where a person lives.
