The
Dangote Group was established as a small trading firm in 1977, the same year Dangote relocated to
Lagos to expand the company.[5] Dangote received a
₦500,000 loan from his uncle to begin trading in commodities, including bagged
cement as well as agricultural goods like rice and sugar.[15] In the 1990s, he approached the
Central Bank of Nigeria with the idea that it would be less expensive for the bank to allow his transport company to manage their fleet of staff buses, a proposal that was also approved.
Today, the Dangote Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Africa, with international operations in
Benin,
Ghana,
Zambia, and
Togo. The Dangote Group has moved from being a
trading company to being the largest industrial group in Nigeria, encompassing divisions like Dangote Sugar Refinery,
Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour.[16] Dangote Group dominates the sugar market in Nigeria, and its refinery business is the main supplier (70 percent of the market) to the country's soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners. The company employs more than 11,000 people in West Africa.
In July 2012, Dangote approached the
Nigerian Ports Authority to lease an abandoned piece of land at the
Apapa Port, which was approved.[17] He later built facilities for his sugar company there. It is the largest refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 metric tons of sugar annually. The Dangote Group owns salt factories and flour mills and is a major importer of rice, fish, pasta, cement, and fertilizer. The company exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds, and ginger to several countries. Additionally, it has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil, and gas.
In February 2022, Dangote announced the completion of the Peugeot assembling facility in Nigeria following his partnership with
Stellantis Group, the parent company of Peugeot, and the Kano and Kaduna state governments. The new automobile company, Dangote Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria Limited (DPAN) factory, which is based in Kaduna, commenced operations with the roll-out of the
Peugeot 301,
508,
3008,
5008, and
Landtrek.[18]
On 22 May 2023 in
Lekki, Nigeria, Dangote commissioned the
Dangote Refinery. The plant plans to export surplus petrol, turning Africa's biggest oil producer into an export hub for petroleum products. It also plans to export diesel, according to Dangote, who funded the refinery's construction. The refinery is situated on a 6,180-acre (2,500 hectares) site at the
Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lekki,
Lagos State. It is supplied with crude oil by the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in the world at 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) long.
Wealth
Dangote became Nigeria's first billionaire in 2007.[19] Dangote reportedly added $9.2 billion to his personal wealth in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 30th-richest person in the world at the time, and the richest person in Africa.[20] In 2015, the
HSBC leaks revealed that Dangote was a HSBC client and that he had assets in a tax haven in the
British Virgin Islands.[21][22]
Dangote had a prominent role in the financing of President
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". Dangote also 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.[24]
In 2011, Dangote was appointed by President
Goodluck Jonathan to serve as a member of his economic management team.[25] In 2017, rumors circulated that Dangote was considering a run for
President of Nigeria in the
2019 election. Dangote declined to run and asserted that he does not intend to run for elected office.[26][27] Instead, Dangote went on to serve on a special advisory committee for
Muhammadu Buhari's reelection campaign.[28]
Other activities
Philanthropy
Dangote has worked alongside the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on public health issues.[29] In August 2014, he donated
₦150 million (
$750,000) to assist the Nigerian government's efforts to stop the spread of
Ebola.[30][31] In May 2016, he pledged $10 million to support Nigerians affected by the
Boko Haram insurgency.[32] In March 2020, he donated ₦200 million ($500,000) towards the fight against the spread of
COVID-19 in Nigeria.[33]
Football
In 2019, Dangote and
Femi Otedola promised to give the
Nigerian national football team $75,000 for every goal scored in the
Africans Cup of Nations (AFCON).[34] He is also an avid fan of English football team
Arsenal FC and has shown interest in buying the club. In 2020, he donated money to Nigeria's sport ministry to renovate Abuja, the country's national sports stadium.[35]
Personal life
Dangote lives in
Lagos.[36] He owns two private jets and reportedly works 12 hours every day from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. and runs 10 miles on a treadmill almost every day.[19]
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.[37] Halima followed him into the business world and is currently his company's executive director of commercial operations.[38] In 2023, singer
Davido claimed that Aliko is his godfather.
Awards and memberships
Awards and recognition
Dangote was awarded Nigeria's second-highest honor, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (
GCON) by the former president,
Goodluck Jonathan.[39]
Dangote was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015,[57] 2017,[58] 2018[59] and 2019.[60]
Memberships
Dangote sits on the board of the
Corporate Council on Africa and is a member of the steering committee of the
United Nations Secretary-General's Global Education First Initiative,[61][62] the
Clinton Global Initiative and the International Business Council of the
World Economic Forum. He was named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center, in September 2016, by the
US Chamber of Commerce.[63][64][65][66] In April 2017, he joined the board of directors of the
Clinton Health Access Initiative.[67] He is also on the board of
One Campaign.[68][69][70] Dangote was appointed the founding Chairman of the Nigeria End Malaria Council by President Buhari in August 2022.[71] He is also a member of the Global End Malaria Council, along with other leaders including Bill Gates, Ray Chambers, and former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.[72]
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
ISBN9781618978851
Ekekwe, N. (2020), The Dangote System: Techniques for Building Conglomerates, Tekedia Institute