Emerging Wealthy Nigerians Most Enterprising in Africa, Others – Report

• Emerging Wealthy Nigerians Most Enterprising in Africa, Others – Report

Nigeria is the most entrepreneurial market across Asia, Africa and the Middle East when it comes to increasing wealth, a new research by Standard Chartered revealed on Wednesday.

The report found that Nigeria’s emerging affluent considered that effective wealth management held the key to greater social mobility.

More emerging affluent consumers in Nigeria planned to start a business to increase their wealth than in any other market, according to the new Standard Chartered study.

It stated, “The Emerging Affluent Study 2018 – ‘Climbing the prosperity ladder’ – examines the views of 11,000 emerging affluent consumers – individuals who are earning enough to save and invest – from 11 markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“In Nigeria, 41 per cent of emerging affluent consumers say that starting their own business is a strategy to meet their financial goals and increase their wealth; this compares to an average figure of just 27 per cent.

“It is the second most popular strategy to increase wealth among the emerging affluent in Nigeria behind investing in financial products (55 per cent); and ahead of career progression and salary increase, which sits in third place (33 per cent).”

The report said that the number one financial goal for Nigeria’s emerging affluent was saving towards their children’s education, with 14 per cent stating this.

“It is also the top savings priority across the markets in the study (16 per cent). For more than one in 10 (11 per cent), setting up a business is the top savings goal; this is higher than any other market – the average figure is just seven per cent,” it added.

According to the report, when it comes to meeting their financial goals, more than half (54 per cent) of the emerging affluent in Nigeria said they invested with a target and a strategy to achieve it.

It stated, “Despite this, when describing the financial products they used to meet their goals, the most basic savings approaches came out on top: 59 per cent use savings accounts. By comparison, less than one-fifth use fixed income investments (19 per cent), equity investments (13 per cent) and mutual funds (12 per cent).”