Tuesday, April 06, 2021 /06:45 PM / by Asoko Insight/ Header Image Credit: Asoko Insight

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Executive Summary

Home to Africa's largest market and nearly a third ofthe continent's population, West Africa boasts a vibrant business communitywith some of the most recognisable indigenous brand names on the continent.Family-owned businesses (FOBs) are central to the region's economies, both atthe top of the market where they form some of the biggest businesses, and inthe small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment, where they provide the foundationof employment and economic growth en masse.

With a strong entrepreneurial spirit at their core,deep roots in their local markets and experience or ambitions for growth,family firms offer unique opportunities for investment and partnerships for theAfrica-focused global finance and corporate communities.

Themain obstacle to connecting capital and opportunities with the space has beenits opacity, as details on these companies' nature, size and shareholding arelargely unavailable. This report, produced by Asoko in partnership withBusiness Day, brings those details to light using a transparent and data-drivenmethodology to highlight 500 leading family-owned businesses from across theEconomic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We're pleased to introducethe FOB500.

Ratherthan a listing of the largest players, we have sought to balance the big nameswith lesser-known, up-and-coming firms to provide a representative sample offamily businesses across the full corporate landscape. Within the dataset, 55%of businesses have revenues over $10 million a year while 45% earn less than$10 million, but over a threshold of $1 million. A similar breakdown is seen inemployment, with 60% of firms having a workforce of under 200 and 40% employingmore than 200 staff.

In linewith its dominance of the ECOWAS economy, Nigerian businesses form the crux ofthe dataset, with 36% of firms. Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Mali togetheraccount for 42.5% with the remaining ECOWAS markets making up 21.5%.Agribusiness is the largest single sector among the FOB500 with 27%, followedby manufacturing and construction at 20%. Firms across the services sector makeup a combined 33% of the dataset, with transport being the largest segmentwithin it at 10% of the total. Nigeria's outsized influence can be seen in thefact that some 10% of the FOB500 operate in the oil and gas sector, just behindconsumer goods and retail businesses at 11%.

We havegiven special focus to firms that exemplify the thematic topics covered in thereport:

• Companies with a regional reach which are likely to find themselves at theforefront of trade integration under the African Continental Free TradeAgreement (AfCFTA);

• Family firms that have taken on external capital, either from private equity orvia public stakes on local exchanges, to support their growth;

• Women-led businesses that showcase the strong female entrepreneurial spirit onthe continent, which has the largest proportion of female founders globally;

• Multi-generation firms with successful succession under their belts; and

• Firmswith a business structure or mission that puts innovation and impact at theforefront of their strategy, including a purposeful shift into manufacturing insupport of self-sufficiency and employment.

Complementingthese company profiles is our analysis and insights from sector stakeholders onthe major challenges and opportunities facing family businesses today withinthe context of the ECOWAS market and the five largest economies within thebloc.

Ourselection of companies to highlight was informed by their relative weight inthe market, based on size metrics including revenue and employment, alongsidethe factors relevant to the topic they are profiled under, such as age of thebusiness and geographic reach. The profiles are by no means exhaustive; mostcompanies would easily fit into several categories, as would any number of the500 firms that form the foundation of the report. A directory is included tosupport further research, identifying each firm's HQ country and sector ofoperation

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