THE BIOGRAPHY OF DANGOTE
and how he became the world’s richest black man
The Story
Everything you know about Dangote is probably true; born into the wealthy Dantata family, pragmatic to a fault, and yes super rich — as of today some 12.5 Billion US Dollars rich, with a capital B.
But what you probably didn’t know about this Nigerian business magnate is that (and this may surprise you); he started from scratch and right out of college too, at 20. Dangote built his business with a ‘small’ loan from his uncle; began trading sugar, oil and rice before deciding to build his own cement factory in 2003, which is pretty much when things took off dramatically for him.
The simple unassuming man, with a suave northern accent appears shy at first glance, but have a conversation with him and you soon learn why he’s been so successful. In a recent interview at Bloomberg USA, Dangote attributes his success to exceptional focus, discipline, and tenacity to take risks. Dangote explained that he never entered a business that he didn’t solidly know everything about.
He also admitted that it would be naïve on his part to believe that there wasn’t an element of luck to the path he chanced upon. He admits that cement was a big bet, and one he was privileged enough to take a risk on its immense growth potentials, before many did.
His Dangote Cement factory is currently the biggest in sub-Saharan Africa in production capacity, and retails in almost every country. He recalls that at the time of the cement project, Nigeria was producing on average, a total stock of 1.8million metric tonnes. But Dangote planned for 5 million metric tonnes. He further recounted that his bankers at the time, reviewing his 5-year business plan, called it a bluff. And right so it seemed at the time, but with time Dangote Cement has longed proven them wrong.
In retrospect, it’s apparent that Dangote didn’t allow the allure of his family’s wealth, nor the early death of his father (he was only 8 when his father passed), stand in the way of his goals.
His tunnel vision has proved valuable to his success. In truth, it’s fair to say everything he’s turned out to be has been a mix of all he’s ever experienced. — surrounded by trade all his life, the diversity of insight that schooling in Egypt offered him, and his adventurous move into Lagos’ entrepreneurial pool — have rightly propelled him to this present status.
Now though, Dangote has eyes on another vision; to climb up the Forbes list of world’s richest persons, and eventually sit at the pinnacle. It’s a long shot, especially with today’s tech billionaires not showing any signs of slowing down, but he’s unperturbed — the world’s richest black man didn’t get here without dreaming big.
References
Bloomberg Markets and Finance (2020, January 9). Dangote Says He Built His Fortune From Scratch [video]. Extracted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgyTeo2GS4M
