Did you know that Aliko Dangote is not only the wealthiest man in Africa but the richest black man in the whole world? Dangote has a net worth of $13.5 billion.
This is how the business magnate built his empire.
The 65-year-old grew up in Kano State, Nigeria. According to Investopedia, he was raised in an upper-middle-class Muslim household.
Dangote had an interest in business from an early age and drew inspiration from his grandfather, who was a successful entrepreneur.
In 1977, when he was 21, he received a bachelor's degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
After this, Dangote, a determined young man at the time, borrowed $3 000 from his uncle to launch his own business importing and selling agricultural goods such a flour, salt and sugar in Nigeria.
In 1977 he moved to Lagos and formally established his small trading firm, Dangote Group. The entrepreneur quickly became successful and was able to repay the debt and substantially grew his business.
According to Investopedia, in 1997, Dangote discovered that operating as a middleman was an expensive activity. So he established a facility to create the same products he had been importing and selling for the previous 20 years: pasta, sugar, salt, and flour.
Dangote was reportedly awarded a state-owned cement firm around the same time. He considerably expanded its activities in 2005 by building a multimillion-dollar manufacturing factory.
The building was funded by Dangote's own $319 million as well as a $479m loan from the International Finance Corporation.
According to Investopedia, most of Dangote's money comes from Dangote Cement, which produces 45.6 million tons of cement per year and operates in 10 African nations.
Dangote made his first billion in 2007, becoming Nigeria’s first billionaire. He has donated some of his fortune to philanthropic endeavours across the African continent.
IOL Business