Who is Aliko Dangote?
Aliko Dangote was born on April 10, 1957, in Kano, Nigeria. His father was a successful businessman, and Dangote got his start in business by helping out at his father’s company, Dangote Industries Limited. He took over the company in 1977, when he was just 21 years old. He started to expand the company’s operations, and in the 1990s, he ventured into other industries like sugar and flour. He founded Dangote Cement in 2000, and it has since become the biggest producer of cement in Africa.
Aliko Dangote Business Career
Aliko Dangote’s business career has been nothing short of impressive. He started out by managing his family’s trading company, and he’s since grown it into a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Here are some of the highlights of his business career:
- In 1990, he started his own trading firm, Dangote Enterprises.
- In 2001, he started Dangote Sugar Refinery, which is now the largest sugar producer in Nigeria.
- In 2007, he founded Dangote Cement, which has since become the largest producer of cement in Africa.
Upon his graduation, he came back to Nigeria, and then Dangote Group was founded as a small trading firm in 1977 before which he had collected a loan from his uncle and he used the loan to establish his own cement trading business. Years later he transformed the company that became the Dangote Group in 1981. Between 1980 and 1990, Dangote enlarged his operation to include sugar, fish, milk, flour, rice, etc.
He got grounded in manufacturing and was able to create an opportunity for himself to meet the needs of the consumers within the then fast booming Nigeria economy and her increasing population. Dangote later added salt and sugar refineries with flour mills and a pasta factory to his conglomerate in 1999. A year later he commissioned the Obajana cement plant, the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Business training
Aliko Dangote didn’t have any formal business training, but he learned a lot from his father, who was a successful businessman. He also learned a lot about business by working with international companies and studying the operations of other successful businesses. He’s also credited his success to hard work, determination, and having a clear vision for his businesses.
Aliko Dangote Net worth
Aliko Dangote’s net worth is estimated to be around $16 billion, making him the richest man in Africa. Much of his wealth comes from his stake in Dangote Cement, which is worth around $10 billion. He also has stakes in other businesses, including sugar, flour, oil, and gas. He’s been listed as one of the richest people in the world by Forbes Magazine for many years. In fact, he was ranked the 64th richest person in the world in 2021.
Who is Aliko Dangote’s Wife and Children?
Dangote married Zainab Dangote in 1977, but they divorced at an unknown date. He was later married to Mariya Muhammad Rufai until their divorce, though the dates of the wedding and divorce are unknown. He has three daughters named Halima, Mariya, and Fatimah, and an adopted son named Abdulrahman.
Dangote refinery first product to hit market by July
Beyond the constant availability of high-quality fuels for our transportation sector, the refinery will also make available to our Industries vital raw materials for a wide range of manufacturers in the plastics, pharmaceutical, food and beverages, packaging, construction, and many other industries. While the refinery operation and ancillary businesses will generate massive job opportunities, the downstream value chain will equally provide far more absorptive capacity for labour in hundreds of thousands.
“Once our plant is fully onstream, we expect that at least 40 per cent of the capacity will be available for export, and this will result in significant foreign exchange inflows into the country,” he said. He emphasised the refinery’s role in fulfilling the group’s corporate vision of promoting self-sufficiency and global competitiveness. We have built a Refinery with a capacity to process 650,000 barrels per day (plus 900,000 tonnes of polypropylene) in a single train – which is the largest in the world. We have selected the best plants and equipment and the latest technologies from across the world.
“Our products slate is designed to meet the highest quality standards and high-value products including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel). Others are Aviation Turbine Kerosine (ATK); all of Euro V Standards that will enable us not only meet our country’s demand but also to become a key player in the African and global market. Our coastal location and offshore loading and offloading (SPM) facilities with a capacity to receive all our crude oil supplies and evacuate up to 75 per cent of our liquid products give us direct access to the rest of Africa and the global market for exports.
“In addition, 80 per cent of our production can be discharged through trucks nationwide.” Dangote disclosed that the huge investment of over $18.5 billion in this industry was prompted by the company’s desire to support and contribute its quota to the Federal Government’s sustained effort to transform the economy and reposition Nigeria as the leading nation in Africa. According to him, apart from ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality fuels for the transportation sector, the refinery will provide essential raw materials to a wide range of manufacturing sectors, including plastics, pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, packaging, construction, and more.
“Once our plant is fully on stream, we expect that at least 40 per cent of the capacity will be available for export and this will result in significant foreign exchange inflows into the country,” he said. Also speaking, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed that outstanding debt by Dangote refinery has dropped appreciably from over $9 billion to $3 billion. This was even as he said the CBN also partnered, as always, with the Dangote Group in ensuring the successful completion of the project by providing about N125 billion, to cover domestic currency requirements for the venture.