Entreprenuer Extraordinaire: The Inspiring Story Of Aliko Dangote, African Billionaire And Business Magnate

 Good day steemitans. Hope y'all are having a wonderful day. I have written an article which I deem will be worth your time. It is part of the the entrepreneur contest. Happy reading and jolly learning.

Intro

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Dangote's dedication is what makes him special and is also what brought him to where he is today.

 Dangote is an inspiration to many Nigerians and even Africa. I hope his story inspires every aspiring entrepreneur who reads it.

The Early Life Of Aliko Dangote

Dangote is an ethnic Hausa Muslim from Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. He was born on 10th April, 1957, to his parents, Mohammed Dangote and Mariya Sanusi. His extended family is full of famous names like Sanusi Dantata. Dangote's great-grand father, Alhassan Dantata, was the richest man in West Africa during his life time.

The Education Of Aliko Dangote

Lucky for Dangote, he came from a wealthy family and a family that understood the value of education. Because of this he had no difficulty getting the best education. He received his first education at Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, before proceeding to Capital High School, Kano for his secondary education.

Dangote would graduate from Government College, Birnin Kudu in 1978. He got his degree in Business Studies And Administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

Even as a student, Dangote showed strong entrepreneurial tendencies. He said during an interview:

"I can remember when I was in primary school, I would go and buy cartons of sweets [candy] and I would start selling them just to make money. I was so interested in business, even at that time."

How Dangote Entered The Business World And Became An Entrepreneur

One of Dangote's cement companies

The Dangote Group of industries has also expanded to food, telecommunications and transportation. The Dangote group controls over 70% of the sugar market in Nigeria, and supplies to soft drink companies, breweries and confectioneries. Dangote Group, which started as a trading firm, has under Dangote's initiative expanded to become the largest industrial group in the whole of Nigeria. This behomoth of a company now includes, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Flour, and Dangote Cement.

In 2012, the Nigerian Ports Authority leased an abandoned piece of land to Dangote in which he built the facilities of his flour company. In the 1990s, Dangote requested the Central Bank Of Nigeria to allow his transport company to manage the bank's fleet of staff buses as it would be cheaper for the bank. CBN granted Dangote's request.

Dangote's conglomerate of industries also engages in active exportation and importation. Dangote is a .major importer of rice, fish, pasta, cement, and fertiliser in Nigeria. His company also exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds, and ginger to different countries of the world.   

 Dangote's company has also made major profitable investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil, and gas. The company is currently the largest business conglomerate in West Africa and employs about 11,000 people.
Dangote became more serious about getting into telecommunications when he began building 14,000 kilometers of fibre optic cables to serve the whole of the country. 

The entrepreneur is serious about not only expanding his industrial operations but also developing his country in the process. He said: 

"Let me tell you this and I want to really emphasise it ... nothing is going to help Nigeria like Nigerians bringing back their money. If you give me $5 billion today, I will invest everything here in Nigeria. Let us put our heads together and work."

Dangote's Life Outside Business

Politics

Dangote has some involvement in politics. For example he sponsored Olusegun Obassanjo who ran for Nigeria's presidency in 2003 with over 200 million Naira  ($2 million). Dangote also generously gave out N50 million (US$500 thousand) to the National Mosque under the aegis of "Friends of Obasanjo and Atiku"
Dangote also gave 200 million naira to the presidential library.

Philanthropy

Dangote is an active philanthropist. In 2014, the business magnate contributed 150 million naira (US$750,000) to enable the Nigerian government tackle the spread of the Ebola virus. Dangote donated 00 million naira (US$500,000) in March 2020 to help control Corona virus in Nigeria.

The Personal And Family Life Of Aliko Dangote

Dangote has been married and divorced twice. One of his wives was Mariya AD Muhammad Rufai, who is the daughter of commissioner for Women affairs and Human services in Bauchi State. 

Dangote's marriages have given him three children, all daughters, Mariya, Halima, Fatimah. He also has one adopted son Abdulrahman Fasasi.

Some Awards And Recognitions Given To Aliko Dangote

# Dangote was named Forbes Africa person of the year in 2014.

# Dangote was given Nigeria's second-highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by the former president, Goodluck Jonathan.

# Dangote was listed for 6 consecutive years as the most powerful person in Africa by Forbes.

# In April 2014, Time Magazine listed Dangote among its 100 most influential people in the world.

# In October 2015, Bloomberg Markets listed the billionaire as sted among "50 Most Influential Individuals in the World".

# Dangote was the winner of the 2016 African Business Leader Award", which was organized by the Africa-America Institute (AAI).

There are many other awards Dangote has won but these are just a few of them.

A Few Words To Aspiring And Struggling Entrepreneurs From Dangote's Story

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All entrepreneurs who read Dangote's story should first learn that it is important to have a dream, a desire. It was Dangote's desire that made him to start meddling with business matters even a a tiny little primary school boy. 

Also it is important to nurture your dream. Dangote no doubt nurtured his dream. When you have a dream to achieve something, things will come to take the dream away, including problems and discouraging thoughts and people. But you can keep your dream alive and secure by nurturing it.

Also as an entrepreneur, or someone who wishes to be one, you need to be hardworking and diligent as Dangote is to be able to achieve your goals.

Lastly you need initiative and foresight. You need to broaden your thoughts. Think great thoughts. Dare to dream big. Dangote's initiative was what made him to think about expanding his company and he succeeded.

These qualities displayed by the billionaire entrepreneur are what inspired and motivated me to share his story and I hope it motivates and inspires others too.

Conclusion

It is no secret that Dangote's dedication, foresight and determination amongst other things got him to where he is now. I hope his story inspires other struggling entrepreneurs to keep on doing their best until they succeed. Because with hardwork and determination success is sure. It may linger or take time, but it will surely come to be.

Reference Sources:

Link 1,  Link 2, Link 3

Thanks for reading my article. Hope you found it interesting and inspiring.