11 Secrets Of Aliko Dangote's Financial Success

Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian billionaire, who owns the Dangote Group, which has interests in commodities. The company operates in Nigeria and other African countries, including Benin, Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania, and Zambia. As of June 2016, he had an estimated net worth of US$15.1 billion.

In this post we are going to take a look at some of his financial secrets:

(1) He had a vision
He started out with a vision to be the biggest name and brand in Africa. He had the vision of bringing commodity products to every home in Nigeria.

(2) He once worked for someone
Dangote worked for his uncle Sani Dangote. He acted in accordance with the statement which says "if you must lead, you must first serve." It was while he was working for his uncle that he gathered experience,  skills and confidence.

(3) He took a loan to start his business
He started his business with a 500,000 naira loan he took from his uncle(master). He approached his uncle in 1977 and told him of his plan to establish a business outfit and his uncle gave him the loan to start the business. However he was given a three months deadline and he repaid the loan within the stipulated time.

(4) He kicked off his business by trading in commodity
Sugar, rice pasta, salt, cotton, millet, cocoa, textile and vegetable oil were the commodities he started his business with. He was importing this commodities into Nigeria.

(5) He developed a strong distribution network
Since production is not complete until goods reached the final consumer, Dangote developed a strong distribution channel that made his goods deliver faster than his competitors.

(6) He leaped from importation to manufacturing
After some years in his importation business, Aliko Dangote transformed into manufacturing of the goods 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.

(7) He built a brand
Dangote built a very vibrant brand for his business. In an interview he said, "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."

(8) 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 rate.

(9) He had a big breakthrough
Dangote's networking skills and ability to make unprecedented connections made him record the major breakthrough needed for the prosperity of his business. His breakthrough emerged when he acquired the license to import cement.

(10) He works pretty hard
As an astute business man, Aliko Dangote spends most of his time strategizing  and brainstorming on how to grow his business. Reports has it that he sleeps 2am and wakes up 5am everyday. Can you beat that?

(11) He obeys the laws of the land
 Unlike other cunning business men, 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 and he preaches that business should be done as stipulated by the regulatory bodies.