Profile: Aliko Dangote

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the founder of the Dangote Group, which he currently presides over as President and Chief Executive.
Dangote is a graduate of Business Studies from the Al-Azahar University, Cairo, Egypt. He started business in 1977 trading in rice, sugar and cement, before he ventured into full-scale manufacturing.
Currently, the Dangote Group has 13 subsidiaries spread all over Nigeria. The subsidiaries include cement, sugar, salt, flour, pasta, noodles, poly products, logistics, real estate, telecommunications, steel, oil and gas and beverages. The Group operates in 14 African countries including Senegal, Zambia, Tanzania, South Africa, Congo (Brazzaville), Ethiopia, Cameroun, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia and Ghana, among others. The Group, whose core business focus is to provide local, value-added products and services that meet the ‘basic needs’ of the Nigerian population, recorded a turnover in excess of $3 billion (N450 billion) in 2010 .
The Dangote Group has risen from its humble beginnings to win several awards-both locally and internationally. Last year, Dangote Cement Plc, one of the four listed subsidiaries of the Group, made history when it became the largest quoted company in the country, following its historic merger with sister company Benue Cement Company Plc (BCC) and the eventual listing of the emergent company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The Dangote Group was rated among Top 40 African Challengers in 2010 by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and was also adjudged the Investor of the Year 2010 by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC).
Alhaji Dangote, who holds the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), has received many laurels both within and outside the country, in recognition of his achievements and philanthropy. In 2010 alone, he was adjudged One of 50 Distinguished Nigerians at the Nigeria at 50 Awards in 2010; The Sun Man of the Year 2010; the Fate Foundation Model Entrepreneur of the Decade; and BusinessWorld Investor of the Year 2010. He is listed by Forbes magazine as a billionaire and richest black man in the world.

Courtesy of Dangote Group