Who is Aliko Dangote?
Aliko Dangote was born on April 10, 1957 in Kano, state
Nigeria, to the family of Muhammad Dangote and Hajiya Mariya Sanusi Dantata. He
had his primary and secondary education in Kano before he proceeded to Alazahar
University, Cairo, Egypt to obtain a degree.
He is a business magnate. Forbes
magazine declared him as the richest black person in the world. He is the 67th
richest man in the world as at 30th October 2015 with an estimated net worth of
$14.7 billion USD.
He is the richest man in Africa, and also the richest man in
Nigeria. He is the owner of the Dangote Group, which has interests in
commodities with operations in Nigeria and several other countries in Africa,
including Benin, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, South Africa and Zambia. He also has
interests in other sectors like food processing, freight and cement
manufacturing.
How he started
Aliko Dangote work with his uncle Sani Dantata, It was
while working with him that he found his passion and began developing his
business skills. After developing his business skills and building his
confidence, he got a lot a loan of N500,000 from his uncle in 1977 to start his
own business. Aliko Dangote was also given a deadline of three years to repay
the loan but he repaid the loan in three months.
Aliko Dangote started business by trading in commodities such
as sugar, rice, salt, pasta, cotton, millet, vegetable oil, cocoa and textile.
In the course of running his business, he developed strong business ethics and
principles. One of Aliko Dangote’s business strategies for succeeding in the
commodity market was to develop a strong distribution network and make the
delivery of his goods faster than that of his competitors.
After gaining a strong hold on the commodities market, Aliko
Dangote ventured into manufacturing and producing the same commodities he was
importing. In an interview granted to a journalist by this billionaire, he
stated that leaping from importation to manufacturing was his greatest business
move. Since he moved into manufacturing, Aliko Dangote has never looked back.
His company (Dangote Group) controls over 13 other companies with most of them
acquired through strategic mergers and acquisitions. In celebration of his 50th
birthday anniversary in 2007, he commissioned a one billion dollar factory
(Obajana Cement Factory), which happens to be the largest cement factory in
Africa.
Today, his group is made up of the following:
Dangote Sugar Refinery (one of the most capitalized stocks on
the Nigerian stock exchange),
Dangote Flour Mills (sold majority of his shares to Tiger
Brands)
Dangote sacks
Dansa Foods
Dangote transport
Obajana Cement (Africa’s largest cement factory)
National Salt Company of Nigeria (NASCON)
Benue Cement Company Plc
The Bachita Sugar Company
Dangote Cement
Blue Star Shipping
Blue Star Investment
And so on.
Some small business success secrets of Aliko
Dangote
Manufacture; don’t just trade; Aliko Dangote started business as a trader of commodities; he
gathered business confidence and experience as he grew. In an interview
granted, he openly admits that one of his greatest business moves was moving
from being a trader to being a manufacturer. He summed it up by saying;
“Manufacture, don’t just trade. There is money in
manufacturing even though it is capital intensive. To achieve a big
breakthrough, I had to start manufacturing the same product I was trading on;
which is commodities.”
"I am an advocate of manufacturing because it does not only
improve your business status; it also helps you give back to your community and
country; with respect to job creation and economic development". These are the word of Dangote
Build a brand, and don’t destroy it: This is the second small business success secrets of Aliko
Dangote. Aliko Dangote is one of the firm believers of the “Brand Power” and
this is what he has to say about it:
“To succeed in business, you must build a brand and never
destroy it. One competitive advantage I had when I ventured into manufacturing
was my brand “Dangote,” which I diligently built in the course of my trading
commodities.”
Sometime ago, Coca Cola’s assets were estimated to be worth
$3billion but the brand name alone “Coca Cola” was valued at over $80billion.
That’s the power of a brand. So why not start building a brand today? Your
brand could be your saving grace in hard times; it could also turn out to be a
very strong competitive advantage for your small business.
Sell cheap, give quality and don’t kill the competition: To build a successful business, Aliko Dangote emphasizes the
importance of selling quality products at affordable price. Selling quality
products at an affordable price helps in increasing customer’s loyalty. With
respect to competition, Dangote has this to say;
“Don’t kill the competition. Competition is healthy for
businesses. It keeps you the entrepreneur on your toes.”
“There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: make
the best quality goods possible at the lowest price possible, paying the
highest wage possible.” – Henry Ford
Start small but dream big: “I built a conglomerate and emerged the richest black man in
the world in 2008 but it didn’t happen overnight. It took me thirty years to
get to where I am today. Youths of today aspire to be like me but they want to
achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful business,
you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship,
tenacity of purpose is supreme.” – Aliko Dangote
Have connections and pray for a big break:
The next small business success secret is business connections.
Aliko Dangote is respected for his strong network of business and political
connections. You can build your connections and strengthen your network in the
business world by increasing your corporate social responsibility, signing
joint ventures and partnership deals, forming strategic alliances, attending
business events and parties, making political donations and paying courtesy
visits to those at the helm of affairs.
To survive in business, you must strengthen your business
connections and network. And most importantly, you must pray for a big break.
Big breaks are very vital to entrepreneurial survival. In fact, I can hardly
point to any successful entrepreneur that wasn’t thrust upwards by a big
breakthrough.
Bill Gates had his big break when he negotiated and signed a
deal with IBM.
Aliko Dangote had his big break when he secured a license to
import cement. Oprah Winfrey had hers when she started Harpo Studios
Productions and acquired the full rights to her shows; “The Oprah Winfrey
Show.”
Li Ka Shing had his during a riot period and he began buying
properties at rock bottom prices.
Larry Ellison had his when he secured a deal to build
database software for the CIA. The list goes on and on.
So if you really want to take a giant stride in business, you
must not only pray for a big break; you must seek it out and be prepared for it
when it comes.
Believe there is money to be made in your country: Dangote believes one of the main prerequisite to building a
successful business and ultimately becoming rich is developing a firm belief in
your country. Dangote is a firm believer in his country Nigeria. He believes
opportunities abound everywhere but it just takes a smart eye to see them. He
encourages everyone to seek opportunities in their own country instead of
seeking greener pastures in other countries.
All work and less play make Jack a rich man: A popular saying goes “all work and no play makes Jack a dull
boy,” but billionaire Dangote believes that all work and less play makes Jack a
rich man. Hear him:
“I enjoy myself a lot but I derive more joy in working. I
believe in hard work and one of my business success secrets is hard work. It’s
hard to see a youth that will go to bed by 2am and wake up by 5am. I don’t rest
until I achieve something.”
I want to add that “working hard alone doesn’t guarantee
success, you must also work smart.
“It is not really work if you are having fun.” – Pierre
Omidyar
Give back to those who made you; I hope you are conversant with the saying that goes “no man
is an island”. You can never get rich alone. There have to be contributing
factors and individuals you will need to leverage upon. Dangote believes in the
principle of “give and it shall be given unto you.” Just as stated above, one
of the small business success secrets is this; you must give back to those who
made you.
“No man becomes rich without himself enriching others.” –
Andrew Carnegie
Now who are those who made you? These are individuals or
entities you leveraged upon to get to the status you are now. They are those
who gave you a helping hand when you needed it most. They could be those who
gave your business contacts,connections and encouragement. They could be
business associates, political associates, investors, loyal customers, good
suppliers, political associates, your employees, business team, and business
partners and so on.
Obey the laws of the land: “Why risk going to jail by engaging in illegal businesses
when it is easier to make money legally? – Rich dad
Dangote advises entrepreneurs to be law abiding citizens. He
encourages everyone to do business as outline by the regulatory bodies. Obeying
the laws of the land also entails keeping your credit and tax record clean.
Nothing hurts more than striving to build a business empire only to have your
assets impounded or frozen by the authorities. So do the right thing.
Business must flow in your blood: “After my death, I want to be remembered as Africa’s greatest
industrialist.” – Aliko Dangote
Lastly, Aliko Dangote revealed that you must have business
flowing in your blood if you really want to make it big as an entrepreneur. I
solely agree with him. Look at all successful entrepreneurs, they seem to possess
a different kind of spirit. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit.
To success in business, everything around you must smell
business. That is to say you must think business, dream business and live for
business. It’s all about the entrepreneurial spirit. The same spirit that kept
Warren Buffett in the game even at old age, the same spirit that drives General
Electric even after the death of its founder; Thomas Alva Edison.
Without this spirit, you will ultimately fail. Business
flowing in your blood entails tenacity, doggedness, shrewdness and every single
attribute required to keep you going in the game of entrepreneurship.
I believe you are inspired by this article! You can drop a
comment below.
BEST REGARD
Inspiring
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