Aliko Dangote

Founder, President, and CEO, Dangote Group

Aliko Dangote is the founder, president, and CEO executive of Dangote Group. Founded over 30 years ago, the group’s interests include the production and distribution of cement, sugar, flour, and oil, as well as the development of real estate. Dangote set up the Dangote Foundation in 1993 as a vehicle to drive his corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and endowed it with $1.35 billion in March 2014. In June 2015, Dangote himself donated $1 million to Nepal to provide relief to the victims of Nepal’s earthquakes and $153 million to boost Nigeria’s fight against Ebola in 2014. He has been named Forbes Africa's Person of the Year (2014), TIME 100’s Most Influential People in the World (2014), and Forbes' Most Powerful Man in Africa (2013). He is a member of the World Economic Forum, the Honorary International Investor Council, the McKinsey Advisory Council, and the Clinton Global Initiative. In 2013, Dangote was appointed to the steering committee of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative. In addition, he collaborates with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight polio.