The Dangote effect
In 2002, Aliko Dangote was interviewed by TELL Magazine — then one of Nigeria’s most respected news magazines.
He wasn’t yet “Africa’s richest man.”
That didn’t happen — officially at least — until the 2011 Forbes list.
His refinery was still two decades away.
But he said this:
“We are shouting that the economy is not doing well, but what have we done? How many Nigerians do you know who have even more money than I do but are not investing locally?”
That was 24 years ago.
Dangote’s been championing that cause of mobilizing local capital before many were paying attention.
He didn’t just argue for Africans to fund Africa.
He became the prime example of it.
And with the Strait of Hormuz now closed — cutting off Middle East fuel imports — his $23 billion bet on local refining is paying off in ways nobody could have predicted.