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Davos Stars: Aliko Dangote – the richest man in Africa

NIGERIAN-BORN Aliko Dangote is a self-made commodities man, who has built a fortune on a foundation of cement, sugar, and flour. In oil-rich Nigeria, that makes Dangote a standout.

Educated at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, fifty-seven-year-old Dangote started his business, the Dangote group, at the tender age of 21. His uncle loaned him his startup capital, and he opened a small commodities trading business, focused on cement, flour, salt, and fish. At the time, Nigeria was under military rule, but the Dangote Group flourished, growing into one of the country’s largest trading groups by the early 1990s.

After Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule, Dangote switched from commodity trading to manufacturing, focusing on refining sugar and flour, and on food processing. The Dangote Group is moving into new areas, including oil refining, petrochemicals, and fertiliser.

Besides his business prowess, Dangote, who also serves as the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, has also been involved in a number of public interest roles.

In 2010 President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Dangote chairperson of the National Job Creation Committee, which sought to assist the government in providing more employment opportunities for Nigerians. Dangote has also served as the chairperson of the National Partnership Committee of Government and Private Sector on Technical and Vocational Education and Training.



Dangote’s philanthropic works include funding programmes for flood relief, small business development, and food programmes. He has worked with the Clinton Global Initiative, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative, as well as on many other service boards.

Dangote is very involved with the World Economic Forum. In 2014, he served as co-chair of the annual meeting in Davos, and he is a member of the WEF’s important International Business Council, which acts as both a community addressing relevant business issues and an advisory body providing intellectual stewardship to the WEF.

In conjunction with BrightRock, we have taken to sharing the stories from our recently published World Economic Forum starter pack PDF, ‘A Veterans Guide to Surviving Davos’  with you – Follow the link to download the full document.

* For more in-depth business news, visit biznews.com or simply sign up for the daily newsletter.


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