The family office market is increasingly becoming significant as economies and wealth grow. Last year, Deloitte, a consulting group, estimated that there were about 8,030 family offices globally, and they were expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 per cent to reach 10,720 by 2030. Family offices are private wealth management firms that handle the financial and investment affairs of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs). They provide a range of services beyond investment management, including estate planning, tax optimisation, philanthropy, and succession planning. Africa was home to 23 billionaires in 2018. This number increased to 29 in 2023. In total, Henley & Partners estimates that there are about 54 African born billionaires in the world, including the world's richest man Elon Musk. Africa is expected to see a spike in new millionaires, growing by 65 per cent in the next ten years. The likes of Mauritius, Namibia, Morocco, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda are all expected to experience 80 per cent plus millionaire growth. Altogether, the continent is currently home to $2.5 trillion investable wealth, according to Henley & Partners. A 2024 study conducted by Ocorian among family offices in major hubs across Africa such as Nairobi, Tunisia, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Nigeria, shows that family offices have seen better growth in the recent past. With this, Africa could be the next destination of family offices. At the recent Inclusive FinTech Forum in Kigali, Kwan Chi-man, Co-founder and CEO of Raffles Family Office spoke exclusively to The New Times’ Business Editor, Julius Bizimungu, about this and more. Raffles Family Group is a multi-family office, mainly running private equity portfolios for ultra-high net worth clients and families with offices across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, and Beijing, and Bangkok. Below are excerpts; What was your impression of attending this conference? Do you sense the kind of opportunities that family offices like yours can actually tap into here? First of all, I think it's been an amazing experience. I think we've heard so much from the Ambassador of Rwanda in Singapore about how wonderful the country is, but I think seeing is believing. And since we are here, I think we have nothing short of breathtaking in terms of the organisation of the event, the cleanliness of the country, and also the energy in the room. Every time that we talk about anything that is happening in Africa and in many ways, Africa is way ahead of the curve already without even people noticing it. I can give you just one very simple statistic in the world. The world has about close to a billion digital payment wallets. And many people don't realise that almost 60% of them are in Africa. In this aspect, Africa is way ahead of everybody else. The last available data shows Raffles has deployed around $300 million across 15 deals and funds. Where do you mainly deploy your capital? Raffles Family Office is a pan-Asia multi-family office. We have our headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore. We do have offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, and Bangkok as well. As you can see, most of the families that we serve are Asians. However, if you look at the asset class that we manage and invest in, it is basically categorised into two different categories: the traditional and the alternative asset classes. There are four pillars on the traditional side – equity, fixed income, structured products, and forex. On the alternative side, you have private equity, digital assets, real estate, and insurance. Private equity is actually really just one of the eight pillars in our investment universe in Raffles Family Office. From your experience running Raffles Family Office in Asia, what do you think really makes a region attractive for family offices? Of course, it depends on whether you're talking about investment return or being a custody jurisdiction. Either way, I think there are common factors, for example, stability. It doesn't matter whether the family office is looking to custodise in that jurisdiction or invest in the jurisdiction or region, one of the key factors they look at is stability in terms of politics, in terms of economic stability. Are there unique incentives that Africa could put in place to attract family offices to set up here? There are obviously certain things that you can do, but there are also certain things that you don't have to do because the mega trend is here [in Africa]. One of the things that I keep bringing up is, by 2050, close to 30% of the world's population will be African, and they will be the youngest among everybody else as compared to the Europeans, Asians, and Americans. Africa is going to be the youngest and fastest growing, they're going to be the highest earning power, and the most willing to spend. I think that these are the trends that are happening with or without us interfering. People tend to forget that Africa is a continent of 54 countries, with 1.5 billion population. It's going to be 2.5 billion by 2050. Asia is also a big continent. There's always going to be a country that is doing better in certain areas or a country that is not doing so well in a certain area. I think you understand that you cannot take Africa as one, but we have to take it country by country and there will be countries that are very strong in certain things. For example, Rwanda is definitely on course to be potentially the wealth management and the family office hub of Africa. This is due to its geographical location, government support, strong leadership, and really the spirit in this place. Do you think these emerging industries like fintech and renewable energy could make Africa a more attractive market for family offices? I have been here for two and a half days now. I don’t think the word natural resources – gas and oil – none of that was brought into the conversation. It’s all about fintech, inclusion. There are 450 million unbanked or underbanked populations in Africa. I think to serve this population, if you go the traditional way, it’s going to take a long time. However, if you leverage on technology, that can be done a lot faster. The key thing here is that inclusion is not an option, it is a necessity, and it is a must. For that, I think Africa is on the right track. Given that Africa has diverse legal and regulatory frameworks, how can the continent build strong institutional trust to attract family offices? I come from Hong Kong and I spent half of my life in Singapore. As you can see, they are very similar to Rwanda – small countries with limited resources – except human capital. Obviously, the key is to develop human capital talent. I am a big advocate for talent development. This is more sustainable, it is a short win in many ways, that when you have the right talent, whichever industry you are building will thrive. You cannot do without talent. If you were to set up a family office in Africa, where would you set it up and why? Without any bias or influence of the number of friends I have in Rwanda, I would have to say Kigali. The moment I landed, I witnessed the friendliness of the people and cleanliness of the city. Then I met policymakers, key stakeholders, regulators, and government representatives. Everyone is fired up to build Rwanda as a financial hub. One of the key elements is stability. Yes, the country has a difficult history, but Rwanda has done a tremendous job.
