Corporate Governance Winners 2023 Middle East Africa

Family governance in corporate structures is set to contribute to long-term company performance and sustainability.

Research by Deloitte has found family-run businesses in the GCC predict robust growth in the coming years. The study involved surveying more than 100 prominent family groups from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

Business leaders said they thought inflation would remain below 6%, with predictions suggesting it would drop as low as 3.3% in Oman and remain steady at 5% in Saudi Arabia, Consultancy Middle East reported.

Deloitte has previously said family businesses are more influential than corporations in the region. In 2019, a study by the consultancy firm said family-run businesses contribute around 60% of the region’s GDP, with the companies employing over 80% of the workforce.

Deloitte’s Family Enterprise Leader for the Middle East, Scott Whalan, said: “Family enterprises expect the thriving conditions currently seen in the Gulf economies to sustain, underpinned by a high oil price. In tandem with this a positive force from local governments as part of their Vision 2030 agendas.

“These results reflect highly positive sentiment towards the landscape at home, paired with appropriate caution and perhaps inevitable opportunity seizing likely to be exercised in the developed markets. The Middle East stands out as perhaps the most exciting and thriving market of the moment.”

However, it’s not expected to be plain sailing for all family-run businesses. A survey conducted by the DIFC Family Wealth Centre found family disputes and insistence on family control regardless of qualification are the largest challenges facing those firms.

Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, Essa Kazim, said, “Globally, we are experiencing the biggest transfer of wealth in modern times, and being in a young country, many family businesses are experiencing the transfer of wealth for the first or second time and may lack experience in the process to do so with proper governance in place..

“87% of high-net-worth individuals say that they believe their family businesses are set up for an efficient transfer of wealth, yet only 24% actually have effective succession planning in place.”

Talent retention and recruitment, lack of legal structure, digitisation and new technology, and tax, were among the other concerns.

The study comes after the GCC Board of Directors Institute (GCC BDI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Centre for Family Business (NCFB) in a bid to strengthen and ensure the long-term sustainability of family business in Saudi Arabia. The MoU seeks to expand the strategic relationship between GCC BDI and NCFB and act as a framework for initiatives to improve corporate governance in family-run business in Saudi Arabia.

Ethical Boardroom is proud to announce the winners of “Best Corporate Governance” in their respective industry sectors across the Middle East & Africa for 2023. The awards recognise the outstanding leadership from boards who have raised the bar to ensure that strong corporate governance plays an essential part in protecting and enhancing long-term value for all stakeholders. Our awards program is a vital part of our continuing mission to elevate corporate governance standards globally.

For those companies who have made it to the top of the mountain for 2023, we salute you for leading the way

MIDDLE EAST

AFRICA