By Henry Umahi
The Founder and President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is a superman when it comes to money making. He is a money magnet and wealth creator immersed in bold pursuits.
Over the years, he has provided out-of-the-box thinking of an uncommon entrepreneur, making him one of the richest and most powerful men on earth. He is a man of ideas and courage. For him, no deal is too big and no amount is too much to invest. He once disclosed that the secrets of his success was reinvesting his profits in his business. That way, according to him, you watch your investments.
At 21 in 1977, he decided to take his destiny into his own hand. He was reported to have approached his uncle, Alhaji Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata, for a loan. His beloved uncle gave him a facility of half a million naira (less than $1, 000 at today’s exchange rate).
He invested wisely, starting as an importer of commodities in 1978. Today, his conglomerate has interests in such areas as agriculture, agro-processing, sugar production, cement manufacturing, fertilizer production and now, a refinery that has redefined petrochemical and energy production. One of his firms generates 1,300 MW of electricity for the group of companies’ operations. The government of Senegal also buys energy from him.
Dangote’s most ambitious project so far is the construction of the $19 billion Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, located at the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos. It was built by EPC Contractor, a world class engineering firm from India. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has a minority stake of $2.76 billion.
Commissioned by former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 22, 2023, this initiative could be the ultimate game changer in the country’s downstream market in Africa. This will reduce importation of petroleum products. With an installed capacity to process 650,000 BPD, which is about 30 per cent higher than Nigeria’s current 450,000 BPD estimated consumption need per day, Dangote Refinery is making history as the largest single-train petroleum refiner in the world.
When fully operational, it is expected to supply petroleum products to 53 African countries, making Nigeria an exporter of petroleum products. Aside fuel and diesel, it has the capacity to produce other range of petroleum products, such as aviation fuel (Jet A-1) and liquefied petroleum gas.
Also, the refinery is expected to provide about 100,000 direct and indirect jobs even as it will attract foreign investors to the oil and gas sector. According to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), the refinery is projected to add $21 billion revenue to the economy when it goes full steam.
Born on April 10, 1957, Dangote’s net worth is put at $16.6 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in November 2023, making him the richest person in Africa and the world’s 107th richest person.
For his investment in refinery and petrochemical plant in 2023, which has started production, Dangote is The Sun Man of the Year Award winner for 2023.