Aliko Dangote

President, Dangote Group

Mr. Aliko Dangote is the Founder and President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Nigeria’s premier conglomerate. He is a graduate of Business Studies from the Al-Azahar University, Cairo, Egypt. He started business in 1978, trading in rice, sugar and cement, before he ventured into full-scale manufacturing. Under his stewardship, the Group has expanded from the commodities trading company that he established almost four decades ago, into one of the most recognized brands in Africa, with presence in 18 countries on the continent. The Group has four listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The largest of these, Dangote Cement Plc, is the largest listed company in West Africa and the first Nigerian company to join the Forbes Global 2000 companies list. Dangote continues to steward the expansion of the group into other sectors of the economy with the construction of the single largest refinery, petrochemical and fertilizer complex in Africa. Internationally, Dangote sits on the board of several organizations. He is a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative steering committee; founding member of the Gordon Brown-led Global Business Coalition for Education; and sits on the Board of the Corporate Council on Africa. In addition, he is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). He is also on the Board of ONE, the anti-poverty group, co-founded by the Irish celebrity, Bono. He was named Co-Chair of the US-Africa Business Center in September 2016, by the United States Chamber of Commerce. A dedicated philanthropist, Dangote made an initial endowment of $1.25bn to the Dangote Foundation in March 2014, to enable it to scale up its work in health, education and economic empowerment. His business accomplishments are globally recognized and he has won numerous laurels both at home and abroad, in recognition of his business acumen. He is a recipient of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), which is Nigeria’s second highest national honor. Forbes listed him as the ‘Most Powerful Man in Africa’ in 2013. He is also ranked by Forbes as the ‘Richest Black Man in the World.’ Just recently, in September, he won the ‘2016 African Business Leader Award,’ organized by the Africa-America Institute (AAI). He is a devoted family man, with children and grandchildren.