Ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 100th richest person in the world, and the richest in Africa, Aliko Dangote began with a $3,000 loan from a relative. Today, he is a business magnate, investor, founder, and chairman of the largest cement producer on the African continent, Dangote Cement. His cement company has made Nigeria the largest exporter of cement around the world and his investments span real estate, telecommunications, and agriculture. As of March 2019, his net worth was estimated to be $10.6 billion.
Yet, in a recent interview with Sudanese British Billionaire Mo Ibrahim, Dangote explains that he did not believe he was that rich and to be sure it was real, he had to withdraw $10 million from his bank, put it in the trunk of his car, drive home and stare at it, to believe. The next day, he deposited it in the bank.
Watch Dangote share his journey to success, his challenges in business (including having to build a special road for his equipment in Nigeria, building his own ports, and his 13 billion Naira Refinery Project) and his $10 million dollar story at the 2019 Mo Ibrahim Forum: Africa’s Youth: Jobs or Migration,’ held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire early April.
“I withdrew $10 million to just look at it” – Aliko Dangote
Full interview below
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