How Aliko Dangote Became a Billionaire.
Africa’s richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the one of the most successful businessman in the world and in African of continent. In January 2015, Dangote’s net worth was estimated around US$18.6 billion. He made his wealth from cement, sugar and flour among others.
Nigerian bulletin reviews some of his financial secrets:
Secrets Of how Aliko Dangote Became a Billionaire
1. 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. This means he once worked for someone.
2. Aliko Dangote kick-off 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. That is to say, he took a loan to start his business.
3. He started his business by trading in commodities like Sugar, rice, pasta, salt, cotton, millet, cocoa, textile and vegetable oil. That was the commodities he started his business with. He was importing these commodities into Nigeria.
4. 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. Here, he build and developed a strong distribution network.
5. 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. Now he has changed from importation to manufacturing.
6. 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. In his mission to gain the loyalty of his customers, Dangote started selling his competitive products at cheaper rates compared to his competitors’ rates. He sells cheap quality products to over shine his competitors.
8. 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 every day. He really works pretty hard. Can you beat that?