Nairobi, Aug. 3 -- "There is a difference between a family owned and a family run business," points out Florence Wanja, Head of Business and Commercial Banking at Stanbic Bank, as she responds to my question on the common challenges faced by family enterprises.

"Most of the large multinational corporations that we see and brands that we know, your Colgate and the like, started as family businesses, initially starting off as family run. With time, as a business grows, it becomes family owned, where the owners are family members, but the business is probably run by professionals while certain decision making lies with the family members," she explained.

The transition from being family run to bringing professionals on board to manage the ...