From Cement Trading to Conglomerate: Dangote Reflects on Humble Beginnings

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has emphasized that his journey to wealth began from the ground up, not from inherited fortune.

Speaking in an interview originally published by Bloomberg in January 2020, which resurfaced online this week, the billionaire recounted how he started modestly before expanding into large-scale industry.

Dangote revealed that though his late great-grandfather, Alhassan Dantata, was regarded as the richest man in West Africa in the 1940s, and his grandfather also enjoyed substantial wealth, he consciously chose not to rely on family inheritance.

“My father was fairly wealthy, but I never inherited any money from him. Everything I own today, I built myself. Whatever assets came my way, I gave away to charity,” he explained.

Recounting the early days of his career, Dangote said he initially worked briefly with his uncle before relocating to Lagos, where he began buying and selling cement.

“It was a very low-key business. But cement is what builds infrastructure, and we had a massive infrastructural deficit,” he noted.

This realisation shaped his decision to invest in cement production, which at the time was dominated by imports.

He added that Nigeria alone faced a housing deficit of around 17,000 units, a challenge that extended across much of Africa.

That pivot marked the foundation of what is now the Dangote Group, one of Africa’s largest conglomerates.

The group has grown to include more than 15 subsidiaries across at least 10 African countries, with operations in cement, sugar, fertiliser, oil refining, petrochemicals, steel, real estate, transport, and logistics.

Today, its publicly listed companies, Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, and NASCON Allied Industries Plc, remain cornerstones of the continent’s economy.

Punch