Only a few billionaires
walk the earth today. That’s no news. What makes news is that an African is in
the list.
Aliko Dangote was
born on 10th of April 1957 into a wealthy family.. He later moved in with his
grandfather after he lost his dad. He attended primary school at Sheikh Ali
Kumasi Madrasa (an Arabic school). He was so business minded from child hood.
He used to sell sweets while at school just to make profits.
He later went to
college in Egypt and continued with university studies in Cairo, Egypt. Aliko started
establishing the Dangote group at his 20s as a little trade firm. This little
firm later grew with time to be the biggest conglomerate in the continent. The
Dangote group delt in food processing, cement manufacturing, they were also
suppliers of soft drinks in the country alongside others.
When Aliko Dangote
was done with university studies, he took a loan of 500.000 Naira (about 2.500$
then) from his grand father, a loan he was supposed to pay in 3 years maximum.
With this loan,
Dangote moved to Lagos with an uncle of his. He started importing rice from
Thailand and sugar from Brazil which he sold to the local population of
Nigeria. His business saw tremendous growth as he made profits of up to 10000$
in some days. He repaid his loan in 3 months instead of three years.
As his business grew,
he realized that to become a true billionaire, he had to move from buying and
selling to total manufacturing. He started sugar manufacturing, cement, backing
flour and a lot more. He always reinvested all his profits back to the business
and diversified production as much as he could.
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| ALIKO DANGOTE WITH BILL GATES. |
Today, Aliko Dangote,
through the Dangote group employs millions of Africans both directly and
indirectly. He has also contributed millions of dollars to charity
organisations. He also contributed financially toward the fight against Ebola
virus in the African continent. He is currently building a 9 billion dollar oil
and gas refinery in Nigeria prospected to be completed by 2018 and 2021. He is
also working erecting a fertilizer plant in Nigeria.
He has altogether,
four children; 3girls and an adopted son.
Aliko Dangote lives today as the continents richest because of the
right decisions he made at the base. your base matters a lot.
Hope it inspired you.