Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote was born in Kano, Nigeria, on April 10, 1957. In a 2014 interview, he recalled growing up in a merchant family and being raised by his grandfather.⁠[1][2]

He graduated in Business Studies from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. His corporate biography separately lists honorary doctorates, which are distinct from his earlier university studies.⁠[3]

His corporate biography dates the start of his business career to 1978, initially trading rice, sugar and cement before moving into manufacturing.⁠[4]

The corporate history dates Dangote Industries to 1981, initially importing bagged cement and other commodities, then importing bulk cement for local bagging. During the 1990s, it shifted toward integrated manufacturing.⁠[5]

He established the foundation later known as the Aliko Dangote Foundation in 1994. Its work covers health, education and economic empowerment, a separate sphere from his commercial businesses.⁠[6]

The group acquired Benue Cement in 2000 and Obajana Cement in 2002, began building the Obajana plant in 2004 and commissioned it in 2007. Dangote was appointed chairman of the cement company on November 4, 2002.⁠[5][3]

Dangote chaired Dangote Sugar Refinery from 2005 and served as a founding director, remaining in the chairmanship for about two decades.⁠[7]

Following its merger with Benue Cement, Dangote Cement listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in October 2010. It subsequently continued developing and operating cement businesses elsewhere in Africa.⁠[5]

In TIMETIMETIME is an American newsmagazine and media brand founded by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, which published its first issue on March 3, 1923; it is headquartered in New York and known for its Person of the Year selection and the TIME100 list. Since 2018 it has been personally owned by Marc and Lynne Benioff; its current Chief Executive Officer is Jessica Sibley, and its Editor-in-Chief is Sam Jacobs.Open the full entry, he discussed supporting infrastructure such as power generation and recalled scaling back businesses under debt pressure during the financial crisis.⁠[2]

Coventry University lists him among its 2016 honorary graduates. In September that year, he became co-chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.–Africa Business Center.⁠[8][4]

In April 2017, he joined the board of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, which works on access to healthcare.⁠[4]

His foundation participated with GBCHealth and the UN Economic Commission for Africa in the Africa Business: Health Forum, supporting the African Business Coalition for Health and cooperation between businesses and public health.⁠[6]

President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the group’s fertiliser plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos. Official materials gave a $2.5 billion investment and annual installed urea capacity of three million tonnes. Dangote said the project aimed to improve farmers’ access to fertiliser.⁠[9]

Buhari inaugurated the Dangote refinery in the Lekki area of Lagos. Designed to process 650,000 barrels daily, the facility still had to receive crude and begin production after the ceremony.⁠[10]

After receiving initial crude shipments, the refinery began production in January 2024, initially making diesel and aviation fuel. Startup and reaching full design capacity were separate stages.⁠[10]

According to an exchange filing, Dangote retired as chairman of Dangote Sugar Refinery effective June 16, 2025, with Arnold Ekpe succeeding him.⁠[7]

Dangote Cement’s board announcement confirmed his retirement as director and chairman on July 25, 2025, with Emmanuel Ikazoboh succeeding him as chairman.⁠[11]

The refinery withdrew a suit filed in Abuja in 2024 challenging petroleum-product import licences issued to other operators. Withdrawal did not itself constitute a judicial ruling on the merits.⁠[12]

At a Lagos press conference, he announced plans to expand refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels daily and increase petrochemical output, including polypropylene. These were expansion targets rather than capacity already completed when announced.⁠[13]

Vice-President Kashim Shettima launched the foundation’s scholarship initiative. It pledged 100 billion naira annually, or one trillion over ten years, across educational levels. The commitment did not mean the full amount had already been spent.⁠[14]

S&P Global Energy reported that the refinery first reached its original 650,000-barrel daily nameplate capacity in February 2026. Processing capacity, actual production and domestic deliveries measure different stages of the business.⁠[15]

The refinery brought a new Lagos suit over import licences, alleging breaches of applicable rules and requirements to preserve the status quo. Importers and regulators emphasized supply needs. ReutersReutersReuters is an international news agency founded in London in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter and is now the news business of Thomson Reuters. It provides text, photo, video, and graphics coverage to media and institutional clients and distributes it through channels such as Reuters Connect.Open the full entry examined court documents, while S&P interviewed a company executive. These were contested positions, not established judicial findings.⁠[16][15]

School of Hard Knocks published a Lagos business-interview video on July 6, 2026, naming Dangote in its description and chapters. The wealth figure in the title is not an independently established calculation of his personal net worth.⁠[17]

The company announced a $1 billion support arrangement for the refinery, comprising a funded $600 million private placement and a $400 million underwriting commitment. The two components represented different funding statuses.⁠[18]

The refinery opened its IPO subscription, seeking about $1.6 billion, with share trading then expected in November. Opening subscriptions did not mean the listing had already been completed.⁠[19]

He attended groundbreaking for Kenya’s Lamu refinery, with his group involved in construction and ownership. Planned capacity was 700,000 barrels daily, with a 40-month construction target. Local concerns included land compensation and environmental impacts; the project was not operational.⁠[20]

BusinessDay reported on October 7 that the 2026 fuel-import case remained in Federal High Court proceedings. The dispute concerned domestic refining capacity, import licences and continuity of supply; the report did not establish a judgment on the merits.⁠[21]

Dangote Industries: Official website: https://www.dangote.com/ (opens in a new window). X: Public account: https://x.com/AlikoDangote (opens in a new window). Group LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dangotegroup/ (opens in a new window). The LinkedIn page represents the group, not a personal career profile.⁠[4][22][23]