In the world of business, one name has been a dominant force on the African continent - and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote with an esti...
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In the world of business, one name has been a dominant force on the African continent - and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote with an estimated net worth of $18 billion reveals more.
Here are 10 things we can learn from the interview:Did you know?
The Dangote group was established in 1978 and currently operates in 18 countries in Sub Saharan Africa including Nepal.
Failure is a part of business
Even the most successful entrepreneurs fail every now and then and Dangote is no exception.
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| Aliko Dangote |
After beginning a textiles business in the 1990’s, the company had to shut down and let go of almost 6400 workers.
Never be afraid to think big
As Aliko Dangote puts it “We think big and we roll out very big” and that is probably one of the main reasons why he has amassed the level of wealth he has.
Never rely on one product and one market
From being a trading company Dangote has diversified into several industries including banking, frozen fish, textiles, rice, cement and now oil refinery. As Dangote says, the diversification is good for business because there is no business that is 100% safe.
Understand the type of business you are entering into
“The most dangerous thing for an entrepreneur to do is to actually go into a business that he does not understand fully,” says Dangote.
Be patriotic
An important investment strategy for Dangote is to look at what areas that can move Nigeria forward and add value to the people of Nigeria. It pays to love your motherland.
Never compete with anybody
“I think it is mainly to see how impactful you can be to humanity instead of chasing money”, according to the mogul. Dangote believes that African’s are the only ones that are going to make Africa great and move Africa forward.
Soil problems
Dangote’s worst day in business came when they decided to start the first cement plant and found out that they built the 5 million ton capacity on the wrong soil which threatened to destroy everything the company had invested in.
Hide from the competition
To prevent other companies from knowing what they were doing, Dangote decided not to do a feasibility study on the soil before building. As he puts it, they wanted to hide from the competition.
As Aliko Dangote puts it “We think big and we roll out very big” and that is probably one of the main reasons why he has amassed the level of wealth he has.
Never rely on one product and one market
From being a trading company Dangote has diversified into several industries including banking, frozen fish, textiles, rice, cement and now oil refinery. As Dangote says, the diversification is good for business because there is no business that is 100% safe.
Understand the type of business you are entering into
“The most dangerous thing for an entrepreneur to do is to actually go into a business that he does not understand fully,” says Dangote.
Be patriotic
An important investment strategy for Dangote is to look at what areas that can move Nigeria forward and add value to the people of Nigeria. It pays to love your motherland.
Never compete with anybody
“I think it is mainly to see how impactful you can be to humanity instead of chasing money”, according to the mogul. Dangote believes that African’s are the only ones that are going to make Africa great and move Africa forward.
Soil problems
Dangote’s worst day in business came when they decided to start the first cement plant and found out that they built the 5 million ton capacity on the wrong soil which threatened to destroy everything the company had invested in.
Hide from the competition
To prevent other companies from knowing what they were doing, Dangote decided not to do a feasibility study on the soil before building. As he puts it, they wanted to hide from the competition.
Moral of the story, learn to keep things close to the chest.
Keep an eye on the numbers
Avoid cost overruns because that is the fastest way to fail. Dangote managed to get a consortium of banks to raise about $470 million to help them release cash flow. - Online Sources
Keep an eye on the numbers
Avoid cost overruns because that is the fastest way to fail. Dangote managed to get a consortium of banks to raise about $470 million to help them release cash flow. - Online Sources
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