Family Business Summit 2026 to Focus on Succession and Founder Issues

The 2026 Family Business Summit will focus on succession challenges and dependency on founders. The event is set for 15 to 17 October.

The organisers, My Family My Business, PwC Nigeria, and BusinessDay, shared the dates in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

With the theme “Beyond the Founder: Scaling Family Businesses Across Generations,” the three-day summit will look at how family-owned businesses can move from being run by founders to being professionally managed. This change is vital for their future, especially during leadership transitions.

Family business owners, upcoming leaders, wealth advisers, and industry experts will gather to discuss important topics. These include succession planning, governance, access to capital, and how younger generations can help keep family businesses going.

Oghenevwoke Ighure, the summit convener, believes that a family business’s success should not only be measured by its ability to outlast its founder. According to him, these businesses must also add value, adapt to economic changes, and create opportunities for future generations to build on what the founder started.

Mr Ighure said, “We are looking at what it takes to have the difficult and necessary conversations around succession, governance, leadership, capital, and innovation before they become challenges.”

He added, “We want this summit to be a space where families do not just talk about legacy but actively consider what it takes to build businesses that can carry that legacy forward.”

Succession remains a big issue for family businesses. This is especially true where decision-making, business connections, and capital access are tied closely to the founders.

Without proper governance structures and clear plans for leadership transition, disputes can arise among family members. This makes it hard for businesses to continue after founders retire or pass away.

Findings from PwC Nigeria at the 2024 summit showed that family businesses make up over 70 percent of Nigeria’s small and medium-sized enterprises. They also contribute nearly half of the country’s gross domestic product.

Despite their importance, many family businesses find it hard to separate ownership from management. They also struggle to create systems that allow professionals and younger family members to take part in decision-making.

Organisers stated that this year’s summit will mix discussions with practical sessions. These will cover succession, governance, professional management, and business growth.

The programme will feature a Family Business Deal Room and a NextGen Bootcamp. These are meant to prepare younger family members for future leadership and management roles.

Speakers at the summit include Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Chapel Hill Denham; Sam Abu, Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria; and Tara Fela-Durotoye, founder of House of Tara and author of Building Beyond You.

Others include Esiri Agbeyi, Partner and Africa Family Business Leader at PwC Nigeria; Temilola Adepetun, founder of SKLD Integrated Services Limited; and Dominique Turpin, President for Europe at the China Europe International Business School.

Executives from banking, investment, corporate governance, wealth management, and family-office advisory sectors are also expected to join the event.

PwC Nigeria will be the Academic and Knowledge Partner for the summit. This continues a partnership with My Family My Business that started with the first edition of this initiative.