10 Secrets Of How Aliko Dangote Made His
Billions
Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote is
the
most successful businessman of the continent.
His business is presented in a lot of countries.
As of January 2015, Dangote had an estimated
net worth of US$18.6 billion.He made his
fortune is cement, sugar and flour. In April
2014, months before oil prices plunged, he
announced $9 billion in financing from a
consortium of local and international lenders
to
construct a private oil refinery and fertilizer
and petrochemical complex in the country. In
August 2014 he said he would invest $1 billion
in commercial rice farming and modern rice
mills. His publicly traded Dangote Cement is
also grabbing new markets in Africa, with
$750
million in new plants planned for Kenya and
Niger. His net worth tumbled from $25 billion
in February 2014 as a result of a weaker
Nigerian currency and a drop in demand for
cement.
He made his first fortune more than three
decades ago when he started trading
commodities with a loan from his powerful
uncle.
Nigerianbulletin reviews some of his financial
secrets:

1. He once worked for someone
Dangote worked for his uncle, Sani Dangote.
He
served his master diligently. He acted in
accordance to the statement which says if you
must lead, you must serve. It was while
working
for his uncle that he gathered experience,
skills
and confidence.

2. He took a loan to start his business
Aliko Dangote started his business with the
NGN
500,000 loan he took from his uncle/master.
He
approached his uncle in 1977 and told him
about his plan to establish a business outfit
and
his uncle gave him the loan to start the
business. However, he was given a three-
month-deadline and he repaid the loan in
three
months.

3. He kicked off his business by trading in
commodities
Sugar, rice, pasta, salt, cotton, millet, cocoa,
textile and vegetable oil were the commodities
he started his business with. He was importing
these commodities into Nigeria.

4. He developed a strong distribution network
Since production is not complete until the
goods
reach the final consumer, Dangote developed
a
strong distribution channel that made his
goods
delivered faster than his competitors’ goods.

5. He leaped from importation to
manufacturing
After some years in his importation business,
Aliko Dangote transformed into a producer of
products he was importing. In one of his
statements, he revealed that changing from an
importer to a manufacturer has so far been
his
best move. The move produced Dangote Group,
an organization that controls over 13
companies.

6. He built a brand
Dangote built a vibrant brand for his business.
He corroborated this during an interview by
saying “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.”

7. He sells cheap quality products
In his mission to gain the loyalty of his
customers, Dangote started selling his
competitive products at cheaper rates
compared
to his competitors’ rates.

8. He had a big breakthrough
Dangote’s networking skills and ability to
make
unprecedented connections made him record
the major breakthrough he needed for the
prosperity of his business. His break through
emerged when he acquired the license to
import
cement.

9. He works pretty hard
As an astute businessman, Alhaji Aliko
Dangote
spends most of his time strategizing and
brainstorming on how to grow his business.
Reports have it that he sleeps by 2:00 am and
wakes up by 5:00 am everyday. Can you beat
that?

10. He obeys the laws of the land
Unlike other cunning businessmen, Dangote is
an upright man as far as abiding by the rules
and regulations governing the ethics of
business
are concerned. He keeps his credit records as
well as his tax records tidy and he preaches
that
business should be done as stipulated by the
regulatory bodies.
Keep Hustling!!

M

Nice thread op.

The hand of God is upon him.