Aliko Dangote
The Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate with its headquarters in Lagos was founded by Aliko Dangote. Aliko Dangote (GCON) is a Nigerian businessman, investor, and owner of the Dangote Group, which has interests in commodities in Nigeria and other African countries.
According to Forbes, Dangote is ranked by magazine as the 100th-richest person in the world and the richest man in Africa and peaked on the list as the 23rd-richest person in the world as of 2014. He was also Forbes’ Africa Person of that year.
After graduating from college in 1977 at the age of 21, Dangote convinced his uncle to lend him money to import and sell agricultural commodities in Nigeria, two of his main imports were rice from Thailand and sugar fro Brazil. His business venture quickly became a success, and as a result, he managed to repay the entire loan within three months of starting operations.
The company was later found in 1981 as a trading enterprise, importing sugar, cement, rice, fisheries and other consumer goods for distribution in the Nigerian market. The group moved into manufacturing in the 1990s, starting with textiles, moving onto flour milling, salt processing, and sugar refining by the end of the decade. The company next moved into cement production, growing rapidly and moving into other African countries.
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. Each of his manufacturing divisions has since been separated into publicly-traded companies: Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC., National Salt Company of Nigeria PLC., Dangote Flour Mills PLC., and Dangote Cements PLC.
Dangote Group is one of the largest private-sector employers in Nigeria as well as the most valuable conglomerate in West Africa.