Africa with a net worth of several billions of United States
Dollars.
His business is heavily present in Nigeria, Africa and other
countries in the world. He left the whole world stunned when
he increased his personal net worth by a million in less than
24 hours in February 2015 and according to Forbes, he is
the 53rd richest man in the world.
In spite of all the giant strides attained by Aliko Dangote,
here are some of his financial secrets that are worth
emulating by individuals and business organizations:
1. He once worked for someone
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.
2. He took a loan to start his business
Aliko Dangote started 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.
3. He kicked off his business by trading in
commodities
Sugar, rice, pasta, salt, cotton, millet, cocoa, textile and
vegetable oil were the commodities he started his business
with. He was importing these commodities into Nigeria.
4. He developed a strong distribution network
Since production is not complete until the goods reach the
final consumer, Dangote developed a strong distribution
channel that made his goods deliver faster than his
competitors.
5. He leaped from importation to
manufacturing
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.
6. He built a brand
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. He sells cheap quality products
In his mission to gain the loyalty of his customers, Dangote
started selling his competitive products at cheaper rates
compared to his competitors’ rates.
8. He had a big break
Dangote’s networking skills and ability to make
unprecedented connections made him record the major
breakthrough he needed for the prosperity of his business.
His break through emerged when he acquired the license to import cement.
9. He works pretty hard
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 everyday. Can you beat that?
10. He obeys the laws of the land
Unlike other cunning businessmen, Dangote is an upright
man as far as abiding by the rules and regulations governing
the ethics of business are concerned. He keeps his credit
records as well as his tax records tidy and he preaches that
business should be done as stipulated by the regulatory bodies.
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