On the prestigious list of wealthiest billionaires in the world is a Nigerian standing strong near the top quarters – Aliko Dangote. Born and brought up in Kano State, Nigeria, Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa and also the richest black person in the world, according to Forbes. With an estimated net worth of $14.1 billion, Aliko Dangote is the Founder and Chairman of Dangote Cement, the company that produces 45.6 million metric tonnes annually with operations in ten countries across Africa. This company is also his primary source of income.
Although he was born into a wealthy Muslim family, he wanted to set out in the world on his own. In 1978, he borrowed $3,000 from his uncle. He began an import and export business for agricultural goods in Nigeria. The operations of the company were so successful that he didn’t only repay his uncle in the next few months, his company is today the largest private sector company in Nigeria. Today, Aliko Dangote deals in not just agricultural goods but also oil, gas, consumer goods such as sugar, cement, flour, and manufacturing.
Aliko owes his business acumen to his maternal grandfather
Aliko’s drive to dream big and do something phenomenal started since he was a small kid. His maternal grandfather instilled a business mindset in him from the beginning. In 2015, in an interview for Forbes, Aliko said, ‘When you are raised by an entrepreneurial parent or grandparent you pick that aspiration. It makes you much more aggressive – to think anything is possible.’ At the mere age of 8, Aliko would use his pocket money to buy sweets, and then give the sweets to some people to sell for a profit.
Years passed by, and in 1977, Aliko Dangote graduated from Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He soon moved to Lagos, which was then a buzzing financial hub. This was the headquarters of his very first business adventure, which he started with the loan from his uncle. He was mostly dealing in rice and sugar, and a daily net profit of $1,000 allowed him to repay his uncle in a mere three months. He soon wanted to stop acting as a middleman and wanted to be independent. He started a plant in 1997 that produced pasta, sugar, rice, and flour.
This was also the time that trade had started to flourish in Africa, especially in Lagos. Oil was the most popular choice amongst businessmen, but Aliko chose to stick to consumer goods. Once he had a strong footing in consumer goods, he decided to venture out in oil. In 2007, he purchased an oil refinery in Lagos. The purpose of doing so was to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on international oil and gas suppliers and create new jobs for Nigerians. The oil refinery is expected to be at full capacity by 2020 and will produce over 650,000 barrels of oil per day.
Aliko soon started working on expanding his empire
Aliko never believed in holding money in the bank and always reinvested his profits back into the company. In 2005, he constructed another multi-million dollar manufacturing plant. Aliko financed the project partially with his profits and partially with a loan from the International Finance Corporation. Today, he has separate publicly traded companies in all four divisions for his manufacturing business – Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC., National Salt Company of Nigeria PLC., Dangote Flour Mills PLC., and Dangote Cements PLC.
Apart from business, Aliko started taking a particular interest in philanthropy. He wanted flourishing trade not just to benefit his companies but also to the people of Africa. He started the Dangote Foundation with one mission – uplift the lives of underserved people in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. He built schools and hospitals and also aided the government with poverty eradication initiatives. Aliko has spent over $6 billion in rehabilitating universities in Nigeria.
He’s not only helped with healthcare and education but also aided the people who were severely hit with natural disasters over the last few years. He helped families recuperate from their losses. Aliko also donated towards the work of providing electricity to several villages in Nigeria. Aliko has worked in the empowerment of women and youth as well – giving them microloans to help them set up their small businesses. While most of his efforts have been focused on doing well for the people of Nigeria, his ultimate mission is to expand these philanthropic efforts to every area of Africa that he can.
He still dreams of making Africa great
Aliko could have ventured to other countries to conduct and expand his business, but he chose to stick to his motherland, Africa, and make Africa rich. All his operations work in the best interest of Africa, and he wants to impact humanity to dream big and do bold things in life. He believes starting multi-million dollar projects in Africa will give Africans the jobs that they need so desperately. This will allow them to earn more than just minimum wages and lead a comfortable and thriving life.
By reinvesting all his profits back into new businesses, he is creating jobs and trying to make Africa great. His philanthropic efforts have helped millions by empowering and uplifting them from their poverty. He doesn’t believe that Africa needs any outside help to do so. Aliko has always dreamt of making it big and creating job opportunities in Africa, and the philanthropist in him doesn’t want to stop. We once said, ‘We Africans are the only ones that can make Africa great.’ This belief has always stayed with him and made him the richest man in Africa.
