GIANT IN THE TROPIC OF AFRICA: Aliko Dangote GCON

• Born 10 April, 1957 in Kano State, he is the great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, the richest West African at the time of his death in 1955.

• Alhaji Aliko Dangote is currently the richest in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$14.1 billion as of January 2022.

• He is the chairman and CEO of Dangote Group.

• Dangote Group was established as a small trading firm in 1977. The same year, Dangote relocated to Lagos to expand the company. Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to be the largest industrial group in Nigeria comprising Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, Dangote Flour and Dangote Crude Oil Refinery.

• In Nigeria today, Dangote Group with its dominance in the sugar market and refinery business is the main supplier (70 percent of the market) to the country’s soft drinks companies, breweries and confectioners. It is the largest refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 tonnes of sugar annually. Dangote Group owns salt factories and flour mills. 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. The company has more than 11,000 staff members and is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

• In April 2014, Time magazine listed him among its 100 most influential people in the world.

• For six consecutive years, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, Forbes listed him as the “Most Powerful Man in Africa”.