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Business leaders, legal experts, entrepreneurs and policy drivers have called for a major shift in the way African businesses are built, urging companies to move beyond short term profits and focus on creating institutions that can survive across generations.
The call was made on Thursday in Abuja during **, powered by the CEOs Portal, with the theme, “Transgenerational Connection: Architecting Generational Capital Across Industries.”
Speakers at the summit stressed the need for stronger collaboration across sectors, sustainable business structures and long term planning that would allow wealth, opportunities and influence to be preserved and transferred to future generations.
They noted that many African businesses still revolve around the strength of individual founders rather than durable systems, warning that such models make sustainability difficult in a rapidly changing global economy.
Convener of the summit, Patience Olusuyi, said the gathering was designed to encourage cross industry partnerships and help business owners rethink how they build and sustain enterprises.
She said Africa must begin to intentionally create institutions that would outlive their founders and continue to impact future generations.
According to her, the focus should no longer be on temporary success but on building systems capable of surviving economic shifts and leadership transitions.
She said: “We’re seeing businesses grow faster than ever before. We’re seeing innovation, disability and capital move at unprecedented speed. But beneath that growth lies a deeper question.
“One that cannot be ignored. In what we’re building up towards. Because profitability is not permanent.
“Growth is not sustainability. And attention is not absolute strength. Too many of our enterprises are still built on personality, not structure.
“Too many are dependent on the energy and soul of a single founder rather than the reliability of a system. Too many are designed to succeed in the present but not to endure into the future. And that is why we are here.
“The theme of this year, Transgenerational Connection, Architecting Generational Capital Across Industries, is the call to responsibility. It is a call to move beyond building companies into building institutions. Because legacy is not accidental.
“It is designed, structured and intentional. And if we are to build enterprises that truly endure. Enterprises that transmit wealth, influence and opportunity across generations.
“Then we must begin to think differently. We must move from isolation to collaboration. From ambition to alignment.
“From short-term wins to long-term domination.”
Olusuyi further urged participants to engage meaningfully during the summit and focus on long term impact rather than temporary inspiration.
She added: “Do not merely network, connect with intention.
“Do not merely inspire. Do not be merely inspired, be transformed. Do not merely take notes but decisions for the future of your business.
“Because the true value of this gathering will not be measured by what is said in this room but by what is built after we leave it.”
Keynote Speaker, Niyi Adesanya, said Africa may not be fully prepared for the transition toward transgenerational wealth, but noted that the process must begin immediately.
He explained that readiness is a continuous process and not a final destination.
According to him, discussions such as the summit are necessary to help businesses and institutions adapt to changing realities.
He said: “The best time to plant a tree is yesterday. And the second best time is today.
“So no matter what, you have to be ready. And when we talk about Nigeria being ready, we’re supposed to have been ready.
“So that’s why conversations like this are very important. That prepares you to be ready.
“Sometimes you’re not fully ready before you make a move.
“Because sometimes when you’re fully ready, you don’t make a move.
“That’s why we say sometimes that too much analysis may lead to paralysis.
“So you don’t have to get everything before you move.”
Also speaking, Justice Mabel Segun Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, highlighted the growing importance of collaboration among industries.
She said modern businesses can no longer operate in isolation, noting that sectors such as technology, law and medicine are increasingly working together to drive innovation and sustainability.
According to her, integration has become a major force shaping business growth and organizational survival.
She said: “The world is moving away from industry isolation. Now we’re moving on to industry collaboration.
“So across the ecosystem, what we have now is integration.
“So you find technology collaborating with medicine to have telemedicine.
“You have law now collaborating with technology to have tech law.
“So for any business or enterprise to scale now, we need that critical collaboration.
“In fact, there’s another concept called cooperation.
“All of these are necessary.
“Competition is where there are competitors now coming together to collaborate.
“So across the ecosystem now, it is integration that is the main thing.
“That is the main currency of business today.
“It’s the main currency of organizational sustainability.
“It’s the main currency for any enterprise to upscale and to sustain.”
Stakeholders at the summit maintained that preserving wealth across generations would require deliberate systems, governance structures and partnerships capable of sustaining businesses beyond present leadership.
