The two-day conference was presented by KPMG and industry experts and family business owners attended the interactive workshop which provided many learning and networking opportunities. The key focus areas that were discussed were succession planning, governance and creating a culture of innovation in this generation and the next.
Mr Christophe Bernard, KPMG's Global Head of Family Business, once again joined the discussion and revealed insights into how European family businesses perceive their growth prospects, business performance, confidence levels as well as the challenges they face.
The workshop was interactive and for the first time findings based on the European Family Barometer were compared to findings from South African family businesses. The Family Business Barometer is an online survey for family businesses which measures and assesses the confidence levels of family businesses, the challenges they face, and the solutions they seek to ensure sustainable growth and development. As many as 73 % of South African family business respondents were confident about the future despite political uncertainty and an unstable currency.
South African family businesses are key to economic growth in South Africa and it was determined from the online survey that overseas markets are an excellent untapped opportunity for South African family businesses.
Prof Venter was part of an expert panel that shared real life examples and expertise on family-owned businesses.
KPMG (back L-R) Alan Barr, Christophe Bernard, Gcina Zondi, Moses Thembe, Abdul Razak Moosa, Nick Matthews, Jay Datadin (front L-R) John Barton, Prof Elmarie Venter and Freya Griffiths