Over the last two decades, wealth generation across Africa has accelerated, driven by entrepreneurship, natural resources, and the rise of digital economies. Yet a pressing issue threatens to undercut this progress: too much first-generation wealth dissolves by the second. The central challenge is not how to amass capital; it is how to steward it across generations. For legal advisors, fund managers, tax specialists, and family office practitioners, the fault lines lie not in investment return but in the architecture of legacy.

There is a real succession gap in Africa. In fact, empirical evidence and anecdotal experience confirm that many high-net-worth African families lack the tools and mindset for disciplined intergenerational transfer. Weak governance, fragmented trusts, inconsistent oversight, and generational misalignment lead to dilution or even collapse of wealth. For professionals working in African jurisdictions, this is not an abstract problem, it is playing out in real time.

Succession planning in Africa must account for volatile political risk, shifting tax regimes, and jurisdictional arbitrage. Families rarely stay localised; their interests span multiple countries, and their heirs often have global sensibilities. The traditional “lock it up and pass it on” mindset is no longer sufficient. The conversation must evolve from “preservation” to “purpose.” The next generation increasingly demands that capital reflects values, whether environmental, social, or technological. For advisors, this means elevating the dialogue by discussing governance charters, having intra-family investment committees, and applying gradual transition mechanisms.

Core tools include family constitutions, discretionary trusts, foundations, and board-style governance structures. But the value lies not in more legal wrappers; it lies in embedding transparency, accountability, and generative control. The structures become the architecture through which a family’s capital, values, and mission can be transmitted.

For Africa’s high-net-worth families and institutions seeking international anchor points, Mauritius presents a compelling proposition. Its treaty network, regulatory clarity, and institutional infrastructure make it a platform of choice for structuring cross-border wealth. In this role, Mauritius becomes more than a domicile, it becomes a conduit linking African capital to global markets while preserving proximity, familiarity, and strategic control.

Within that context, the ability to integrate fiduciary, compliance, and investment expertise under one coordinated framework becomes a decisive advantage. In our Group, through JurisTax’s fiduciary and structuring capabilities, JurisComply’s oversight on governance, regulatory and compliance alignment, and Providentia’s investment management expertise, anchored by vehicles such as the Turquoise Fund, families gain a single, seamless ecosystem. Every specialist within this continuum understands the client’s vision, risk appetite, and long-term goals. The result is not a series of isolated services, but a unified stewardship approach—one where legacy is curated holistically, with every element of succession designed to endure and evolve across generations.

A recurring mistake made by many service providers is treating succession structures as paperwork, not institutions. The most robust families treat their wealth as an operating enterprise, with governance bodies, independent oversight, and periodic review. By institutionalising wealth, appointing independent trustees or advisors, conducting performance reviews and embedding decision protocols, the risk of entropy is minimised.

As advisors, our role is shifting. We are not just architects of structures; we become stewards of legacy. We must guide clients beyond tax arbitrage and asset diversification into conversations about mission, risk resilience, intergenerational alignment, and social footprint. We must challenge assumptions: Are trusts static vaults or living frameworks? Is wealth preserved or deployed? In jurisdictions across Africa, those who combine deep legal, fiscal and investment sensibility will be trusted. Those who can integrate compliance, cross-border planning and governance will stand apart. Stable partnerships among structuring, investment and compliance specialists can deliver a unified proposition.

The next 20 years will set Africa’s great capital transfers, capital that could either dissipate or coalesce into enduring institutions. Whether those fortunes become generational heirlooms or vanish depends on the stewardship choices made today.