Despite its strong growth, the African wealth management market remains concentrated in a limited number of countries. South Africa alone accounts for more than half of this market.  

The African wealth management market is expected to grow by 60% over the next decade to reach $240 billion in 2032 from $150 billion in 2022, according to a report published on Tuesday 28 March by Henley & Partners.

The report, titled "Africa Wealth Report 2023," states that South Africa - mainly Johannesburg- is the main wealth management hub on the continent, with assets under management exceeding $85 billion as of the end of December 2022. Indeed, Johannesburg is the African city with the highest number of high-net-worth individuals. The South African economic capital has 14,600 millionaires, 30 centimillionaires (individuals with assets of more than $100 million and less than $1 billion) and 2 billionaires.

The city is followed by Cairo (7,400 millionaires, 27 centimillionaires and 5 billionaires), Cape Town (7,200 millionaires, 26 centimillionaires and 1 billionaire), Lagos (5,400 millionaires, 16 centimillionaires and 3 billionaires), and Nairobi (4,700 millionaires and 11 centimillionaires).

Henley & Partners also reports that wealth managers active in Africa typically target individuals with more than $500,000 in investable assets (wealth excluding primary residence). The services most in demand by these high-net-worth individuals are asset management, financial planning, and estate planning.