Aliko Dangote and the Group He Founded in 1977
Aliko Dangote is the founder, President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, an industrial group based in Lagos, Nigeria. He set up the business in 1977 as a trading company for commodities and building supplies, and he has led it ever since.
| Role | President and Chief Executive |
|---|---|
| Company | Dangote Group |
| Headquarters | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| In role since | 1977 |
| Born | 1957 |
| Education | Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt |
| Company website | dangote.com |
From Commodity Trading to Factories Across Africa
Dangote studied at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. After graduating he began trading in cement, rice and sugar, and the group later moved from trading into full-scale manufacturing of the same goods. Over the following decades it built cement plants in several African countries and expanded into fertiliser and petroleum refining.
- 1977: Founded the Dangote Group as a commodities and building supplies trader
- Late 1970s onward: Moved the group from trading rice, sugar and cement into manufacturing
- September 2016: Named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center of the US Chamber of Commerce
- April 2017: Joined the board of the Clinton Health Access Initiative
- 2025: Stepped down as chairman of Dangote Cement Plc
Inside the Dangote Group: Cement, Food, Fertiliser and Oil
The group runs businesses in cement, food products such as sugar, fertiliser and oil refining. Its Lagos refinery has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, and the group plans to raise this to 1.4 million barrels per day. The listed cement arm, Dangote Cement Plc, has 55.0 million tonnes per year of production capacity across Nigeria and ten other African countries.
For the 2025 financial year, Dangote Cement Plc reported group revenue of about 4.31 trillion naira. The wider group has set a goal of reaching 100 billion US dollars in annual revenue by 2030.
Succession Planning and Board Roles
In February 2026 a staff memo set out new group executive director roles for his daughters. Halima Dangote oversees the Dangote Family Office, Fatima Dangote covers commercial operations in oil and gas, and Mariya Dangote covers commercial operations in cement and food. Dangote also chairs the Aliko Dangote Foundation and has served on the board of the Corporate Council on Africa and on the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.
Dangote Group Pages and Filings Behind This Profile
- Aliko Dangote, GCON, Dangote Group
- Mr. Aliko Dangote Bio, Atlantic Council
- Dangote Cement Earnings Release for Full Year 2025, Nigerian Exchange
- Aliko Dangote Prepares Daughters in Succession Push, AllAfrica
- Tinubu Rejoices With Aliko Dangote at 69, ThisDay
- Dangote, Nigeria’s Tycoon Rewriting Africa’s Oil Story, Kuwait Times
