The session opened with remarks from His Excellency Johnston Busingye, High

Commissioner of Rwanda to the United Kingdom. Rwanda's journey over 32 years

— from catastrophe of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, to an economy growing at

an average of eight percent annually, with consistent rankings for governance,

institutional quality, and ease of doing business — offers a compelling case study.

The High Commissioner described a country that has embedded digital infrastructure

from fibre optic cables to digital government services, that allows companies to be

registered remotely in 6 to 48 hours, and that has established the Kigali International

Finance Centre as a platform explicitly designed to attract international family wealth

management without preconditions or co-investment requirements. Rwanda, he

argued, is not merely an investment destination. It is a gateway to the continent.

Andrew Deane, chair of the panel outlined why Africa is the growing continent for investment, “ There is a well-known stat that by 2050, one in every four people on Earth will be African. But the real story isn't just the sheer size of the population - it is the nature of it. Africa has the youngest, most digitally native, and most entrepreneurial population in the world.

From fintech hubs in Lagos and Nairobi to renewable energy breakthroughs in North and Southern Africa, and as we have just heard from the high commissioner, the growth of international finance Centres such as Rwanda, we are witnessing a continent leapfrogging legacy systems and building the future from scratch. This isn't just an investment opportunity; it is a global economic imperative.

Lorraine Ahia, CEO at The Bridge Group, framed the broader challenge: Africa does not lack ambition, and it does not lack opportunity. What it has historically lacked is the connectivity between that ambition and execution - bankable, structured projects that turn vision into activity. The Bridge Group’s model of Accelerated Transformation operates at the intersection of capital, policy, technology, and national strategic priorities, helping to bridge the gap between national priorities, investor confidence and practical delivery. Private capital, she argued, must bring not just funding, but discipline, structure, and a genuine commitment to long-term partnership.

Gabrielle Patrick, CEO of Knabu, identified the plumbing problem at the heart of

cross-border finance in Africa. African banks and fintechs often have strong local

track records but remain opaque to Western counterparties who cannot assess their

risk profiles. The result is a structural disconnect that limits capital flows. Solving it

requires intimate connectivity — matching risk profiles across local, regional, and

international levels — rather than simply layering international norms onto local

systems.

From the private wealth structuring side, Chad Phillips, Senior Relationship Manager

at Suntera Global, and Hilesh Chavda, Partner at Spencer West, offered a ground-

level view. A significant portion of Africa's most dynamic growth is now driven by

returning diaspora — families who built careers and capital in London, Jersey, or

New York, and are now bringing that wealth home. But they are sometimes getting

burned, investing in businesses without adequate governance frameworks or

succession planning. The structural gap is real: companies that have never

considered what happens when the founder dies, families for whom succession is a

taboo subject rather than a planning priority.

This cultural dimension was addressed with considerable nuance. In many African

contexts, discussing death is culturally fraught — raising the topic of a will, as Phillips

put it, can feel like hanging a voodoo doll in front of someone. The skill lies in finding

ways to open these conversations respectfully, through the lens of business

continuity or family harmony, without triggering resistance. The High Commissioner

acknowledged the same challenge within Rwanda's institutional transformation,

noting that cultural habits around efficiency and deadlines had to be navigated

carefully before 48-hour company registration became possible.

The panel's discussion of Chinese investment in Africa was measured. China's

presence — in infrastructure, manufacturing, and services across East and Southern

Africa — is transforming the continent. The consensus was that Chinese investment

has, on balance, accelerated development and professionalised many aspects of the

business environment. But it also demands careful negotiation and genuine

understanding of what is being given away. The lesson for European and UK

investors is that the opportunity window is now. Twenty-five years from now, it will be

too late.

For wealth advisors, the Africa Rising narrative has direct implications. African ultra-

high-net-worth families are increasingly sophisticated clients with genuinely complex

cross-border structuring needs — and they are looking for advisors who understand

their context, respect their cultures, and can help them build structures robust

enough to survive a succession.