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Alhaji
Aliko Dangote
MFR, GCON
Dangote at the World Economic Forum, 2011
Born
Aliko Dangote

(1957-04-10) 10 April 1957 (age 67)
Kano, Northern Nigeria,
British Nigeria
(now Kano, Nigeria)
NationalityNigerian
EducationGovernment College, Birnin Kudu
Alma materAl-Azhar University, Cairo
Occupation(s)Industrialist and philantrophist
Years active1977—present
Known forFounding and leading the Dangote Group
SpouseDivorced
Children3 daughters including Halima Dangote; 1 adopted son

Alhaji Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian business magnate and philanthropist who is the founder and chairman of Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in Africa.[2]

On the continent and beyond, he is considered a foremost industrialist, and has an estimated net worth of US$10 billion[1], as of January 2020, making him the 88th wealthiest person in the world and the richest man in Africa.[3]

Early life

Aliko Dangote, an ethnic Hausa Muslim[4] from Kano, Kano State, was born on the 10th of April 1957 into a wealthy Muslim family,[5][6][self-published source?] the son of Mohammed Dangote and Mariya Sanusi Dantata. He is the great-grandson of Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, the richest West African at the time of his death in 1955. Dangote has said:

"I can remember when I was in primary school, I would go and buy cartons of sweets [candy] and I would start selling them just to make money. I was so interested in business, even at that time."[7]

Dangote was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, followed by Capital High School, Kano.[8] In 1978, he graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu.[9] He recevied a bachelor's degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.[10][8]

Personal life

Dangote lives in Lagos.[10] He was previously married, and has three daughters including Halima Dangote, and one adopted son.[11]

Business career

Nigeria

The Dangote Group was established as a small trading firm in 1977, the same year Dangote relocated to Lagos to expand the company.[6] Today, it is a multi-trillion-naira conglomerate with many of its operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and Togo. Dangote has expanded to cover food processing, cement manufacturing, and freight. The Dangote Group also dominates the sugar market in Nigeria and is a major supplier to the country's soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners. The Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to be the largest industrial group in Nigeria including Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour.

In July 2012, Dangote approached the Nigerian Ports Authority to lease an abandoned piece of land at the Apapa Port, which was approved.[12] He later built facilities for his flour company there. In the 1990s, he approached the Central Bank of Nigeria with the idea that it would be cheaper for the bank to allow his transport company to manage their fleet of staff buses, a proposal that was also approved.

He also donated money to the Nigeria sport ministry to renovate the national stadium, Abuja.[13]

In Nigeria today, Dangote Group with its dominance in the sugar market and refinery business is the main supplier (70 percent of the market) to the country's soft drinks companies, breweries and confectioners.[14] It is the largest refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 tonnes of sugar annually. Dangote Group owns salt factories and flour mills and is a major importer of rice, fish, pasta, cement, and fertiliser. The company exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds, and ginger to several countries. It also has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil, and gas. The company employs more than 11,000 people and is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

Dangote has diversified into telecommunications and has started building 14,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to supply the whole of Nigeria. As a result, Dangote was honoured in January 2009 as the leading provider of employment in the Nigerian construction industry.

He has said, "Let me tell you this and I want to really emphasise it ... nothing is going to help Nigeria like Nigerians bringing back their money. If you give me $5 billion today, I will invest everything here in Nigeria. Let us put our heads together and work."[15]

Other activities

Dangote had a prominent role in the funding of Olusegun Obasanjo's re-election bid in 2003, to which he gave over N200 million (US$2 Million). He contributed N50 million (US$500 Thousand) to the National Mosque under the aegis of "Friends of Obasanjo and Atiku". He contributed N200 million to the Presidential Library. These highly controversial gifts to members of the ruling PDP party have generated significant concerns despite highly publicized anti-corruption drives during Obasanjo's second term.[16]

Dangote reportedly added $9.2 billion to his personal wealth in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Index, making him the thirtieth-richest person in the world at the time, in addition to being the richest person in Africa.[17]

In 2014, the Nigerian government said Dangote had donated 150 million naira (US$750,000) to halt the spread of ebola.[18][19]

Aliko Dangote, as well as Femi Otedola, promised to give the Super Eagles of Nigeria US$75,000 for every goal scored in the Africans Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019.[20]

Awards

  • Dangote was awarded Nigeria's second-highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by the former President, Goodluck Jonathan.[21]
  • Dangote was named as the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014. [22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Aliko Dangote". Forbes. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  2. ^ "History & Strategy – Dangote Industries Limited". Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (5 March 2013). "The Black Billionaires 2013". Forbes. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  4. ^ Nweke, Ifeanyi. "What you should know about Dangote". Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ Ilan Bijaoui (2017). Multinational Interest & Development in Africa: Establishing a People’s Economy. Springer. p. 55. ISBN 978-33-1948-914-8.
  6. ^ a b Gabriel Edigheji. The Entrepreneur Magazine. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-105-9093-20.[self-published source]
  7. ^ Adekunle (22 March 2014). "Aliko Dangote - a Lesson for African Entrepreneurs". Vanguard. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Aliko Dangote: Things You Never Knew About Him, His Wives and Children - Naija News". naijanews.com. 17 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  9. ^ IV, Editorial (4 January 2018). "Birnin Kudu College hails Dangote on projects". Blueprint. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b "The World's Billionaires: Aliko Dangote". Forbes.com. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  11. ^ Italoye, Ibukun (25 November 2019). "Aliko Dangote's Children: Names of His Sons & Daughters". Nigerian Infopedia. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR)", Institute of Developing Economies-Japan External Trade Organization. Accessed 26 November 2015.
  13. ^ Oluboytech (8 November 2019). "Dangote set to renovate Nigeria football pitch". Soccerhub. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Somalia orders top U.N. official to leave". Reuters. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Who Is A Wealthy Man? The Aliko Dangote Story". Nigerian Observer. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  16. ^ "Group wants Obasanjo prosecuted over Presidential Library donations, others". Premium Times Nigeria. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Aliko Dangote Racks in $9.2 bn in 2013". BellaNaija. 3 January 2014.
  18. ^ "Nigeria reports one more Ebola case, 11 in total". reuters.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Africa's richest man gives N150m to fight Ebola - Corporate News". businessdailyafrica.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  20. ^ https://www.channelstv.com/2019/07/11/afcon-dangote-otedola-to-splash-75000-per-goal-on-super-eagles/
  21. ^ "BN Bytes: Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Amaka Igwe, Aliko Dangote & Jim Ovia receive Honours – Photos from the Ceremony". BellaNaija. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  22. ^ Reed, Megan. "Nigerian Businessman Aliko Dangote Named Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014". atlantablackstar.com. Retrieved 28 December 2014.

Further reading

  • Barau, A. S. (2007), The Great Attractions of Kano. Research and Documentation Directorate, Government House, Kano
  • Fayemiwo, M. A., & M. M. Neal (2013), Aliko Mohammad Dangote The Biography of the Richest Black Person in the World, Strategic Book Publishing ISBN 9781618978851

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aliko_Dangote&oldid=945974470

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