…Retains African richest man status
…Cement firm rules capital market
…Fellow billionaire picks significant shares
…His oil refinery attracts quality investors
…Set to dominate continent’s oil network
…Conglomerate looms large
The ink was yet to dry from the ballpoints of Entertainment journalists and other writers analysing Funke Akindele’s great work on ‘A tribe called Judah,’ when stories began to make the rounds that Aliko Dangote’s conglomerate is now the talk of the town in business circles in Africa, as wise investors are being attracted to his businesses in the same manner nails are attracted to a piece of magnet or butterflies to flowers.
Akindele’s blockbuster broke a box office record within 21 days of its release in cinemas to become the first Nollywood film to gross N1billion (One Billion Naira).
Before that feat, the Lagos-born A-rated actress had done a number of films and been a house-hold name in Nigeria for her talent, but the huge money pulled by her latest work has elevated her the more.
This story is not about the Thespian, it is about the Kano State-born business mogul, Aliko Dangote and his tribe of highly-successful businesses.
It is about how the doggedness of one man and astuteness in his chosen field of endeavour are positively impacting many lives across Africa and beyond.
Regains Africa’s richest man status
Dangote started the year 2024 as Africa’s second richest man, but he quickly regained his status as the continent’s richest individual. As January prepares to close its wings, Dangote’s net worth has crossed another significant milestone, with him outperforming some of the world’s most influential and prominent business magnates. He reportedly started the year at $9.5billion and is now surpassing $20billion net worth.
His impressive year-to-date (YTD) change of [email protected] outshines global billionaires such as Warren Buffet, the world-renowned real estate czar; Bill Gates of the Microsoft fame, and Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com.
His cement firm rules the capital market
The surge in his net worth is attributed to Dangote Cement’s huge market capitalization. The subsidiary, the multinational cement manufacturer, recently became the first company to hit the N10trillion market capitalization mark on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
Fellow billionaire picks significant shares
The success story of Dangote Cement recently drew the attention of a fellow billionaire, Femi Otedola, who acquired significant shares in the company. Otedola was reported to have said, while acquiring the shares that ‘it is a testimony of the company’s potential.”
His oil refinery attracts quality investors
It is no longer news that investor-interest in the newly built oil refinery is high. It has attracted a good number of investors who have already bought into the project which is expected to dominate Africa’s oil network. Reports have it that at the moment, an estimated 150,000 stations have already secured the rights to distribute petroleum products distilled in his refinery.
According to reports, the $20.5billion refinery, which is the largest in Africa, has a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
“The aim is to produce 250,000 barrels per day of gasoline and 100,000 barrels per day of diesel. It is expected that these outputs would contribute to fuel sufficiency and reduce the $26billion spent on petroleum imports in 2022,” a report said.
It added: “With a capacity to generate 27million litres of diesel, the Dangote Refinery is set to also supply 11 million litres of kerosene, and 9million litres of jet fuel, sourcing crude from various producers in Nigeria, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).”
The oil refinery is also expected to create jobs for about 10,000 workers of various configurations and this number of people who will be needing homes within the neighbourhoods will impact the Lagos real estate market significantly in a positive way.
His conglomerate looms large
The Dangote Group is a diversified conglomerate, with its headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, with interests across a range of sectors in Africa.
Current interests include cement, sugar, flour, salt, pasta, beverages and real estate, with new projects in development in the oil and Natural gas, telecommunications, fertilizer and steel.
The Group focuses on the provision of local, value-added products and services that meet the needs of the African population.
Dangote Cement, the largest cement production company in Africa, with a market capitalization of almost N10trillion on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, has subsidiaries in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia.
Dangote is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 67th richest person in the world and the richest in Africa and recently named among top 100 powerful people in the world.
Other companies in the conglomerate are:
ALCO International Limited; Dangote Nigeria Limited; Dangote Transport Limited; Dangote Cement Plc – Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange and accounts for over 60 percent of Dangote Group revenue; National Salt Company of Nigeria Plc – Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange; Dangote Flour Mills Plc – Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange; Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc- Listed on Nigeria Stock Exchange, and Dangote Oil.
Others are Gas Industries International; Dangote Textiles Limited; Dangote Holdings Limited; Blue Star Limited; Dansa Foods Limited; Dansa Food Processing Limited; Dancom Technologies; GreenView International Company Limited – invested US$28+ million in cement factory in Ghana; Sephaku Cement Limited – Dangote Group has 64 percent shareholding in this South African cement company; Alheri Engineering Limited, and Kura Holdings Limited.
The man Dangote is a phenomenon, and Africa, not just Nigeria, is happy and proud to have him as their son. Alone, he is a tribe with many clans that feed off his palm. Indeed, economically speaking, Dangote is Africa’s unassailable Eagle on Iroko.
