MUST READ 10 Money Tips You Should Learn From The Richest Man In Africa, Aliko Dangote

Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the most successful businessman in 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.