After a meeting with President Tinubu, Aliko Dangote urged Nigeria’s wealthy class to channel spending away from luxury cars and private jets toward industrial investment that can drive growth and jobs. Punch reports that Dangote framed the call as a cultural and policy-era comparison, arguing that restrained elite consumption in earlier periods contrasted sharply with today’s conspicuous spending. He warned that capital tied up in prestige assets could be far more transformative if redirected into manufacturing and large-scale productive ventures. Source: Punch, December 7, 2025.
Tag: Dangote
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Nigeria to become world’s leading cement and clinker exporter as Dangote begins shipment
Idowu Sowunmi
To reaffirm its status as the biggest cement producer in Africa, Dangote Cement has set the pace with the exportation of 27,800 metric tonnes of clinker to a neighbouring African country, Senegal.
With this historic maiden voyage from its Export Terminal located in Apapa Port, Lagos at the weekend, Dangote has gradually made Nigeria, which until recently was one of the world’s largest bulk importers of cement, first self-sufficient in cement production, and now an exporter of cement clinker to other countries.
The exportation of clinker from the Dangote Cement Export Terminal would also place Nigeria as one of the leading clinker exporters in the world. The company is expected to increase the quantity of clinker export to other African countries within the next few weeks.
It said this development would enable Dangote Cement take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and by so doing contribute to the improvement of intra-regional trade within the ECOWAS region.
Speaking during the departure of the ship conveying clinker from the Export Terminal at the weekend, Group Executive Director, Dangote Group, Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki, said the increased exportation of clinker and cement to other African countries would not only place Dangote Cement among top clinker exporters in the world, but would also boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and reduce unemployment in the country.
“The beauty of what we have done is that we are going to be generating foreign exchange for the country in terms of dollars and Euros. For every batch of clinker we export, the money comes back to Nigeria. The amount we are talking about is not small.
“Presently, Dangote Cement should either be number one or number two exporter of cement in Africa and the revenue we have generated in the form of foreign exchange is running into millions. Today, we have formally launched the Dangote Cement Export Terminal. We are still going to do another major launch when the second ship is going out of the country,” he added.
Alhaji Ladan-Baki recalled that only a few years ago, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest bulk importers of cement, saying that “Dangote has gradually made Nigeria self-sufficient in cement production as well as an exporter of clinker to other countries.”
He disclosed that the company would also be launching its export terminal in Onne in the next few days, adding that the export terminal would enable the company export clinker, initially to its grinding facility in Cameroon and then to new grinding plants the company is building across West Africa.
Ladan-Baki explained that not only would this generate useful foreign currency for Dangote Cement to support other expansion projects outside Nigeria, it would also help to increase the output of the Nigerian plants, saying these would help to improve job creation and increase prosperity in Nigeria.
According to him, “This terminal will assist Dangote to actualise the full potential of the company’s investment in cement. You know as usual, when the rain comes, sales decline, but not clinker export. This feat by Dangote is going to generate a lot of jobs because the Export Terminal has already created jobs to many Nigerians.
“As at now, the numbers of employed Nigerians at the terminal have reached 100. We are targeting about 200 to 300 workers in Lagos Terminal alone.
“But, apart from job creation opportunities, the exportation of clinker by Dangote will position the country to participate fully in the Africa Free Trade Liberalisation Agreement when it comes into being, so that Nigeria will be protected against foreign products. It will also help the country compete effectively with every country that are in the business of exportation of clinker. At Dangote Cement, we are going about it aggressively and we are seeing it as an opportunity.”
Alhaji Ladan-Baki said the company has also concluded plans to increase its clinker and cement export to other countries. “This vessel, being the maiden ship is exporting 27,800 metric tonnes to Senegal and this is just a tip of the ice-berg as to what we have in plan. What we have in plan is to send clinker from Nigeria to Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Ghana. Cameroon as an example, takes about 82,000 metric tonnes every month. Our target is to export at least 4 million metric tonnes of clinker annually to various parts of Africa.
“That is our target that we hope to achieve within the next one to two years. This particular voyage is going to our sister company in Senegal. We have an integrated plant of 1.5 million tonnes and this one is expected to give the plant additional clinker that is required for the plant to sustain production. In the next one week or two, we are going to be shipping 82,000 metric tonnes to Cameroon in batches of about 25,000 to 29,000 metric tonnes per voyage,” he added.
The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended Dangote Cement for leading the way for Nigeria to become one of the biggest cement and clinker exporter in the world.
Speaking on Dangote’s achievement, MAN Acting Director-General, Chuma Oruche, praised the wealthiest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for leading the way in the export of product from Nigeria to other countries.
According to him, this feat by Dangote Cement is capable of boosting Nigeria’s foreign earning and reduce unemployment in the country.
He said: “The export of clinker by Dangote Cement at the weekend will definitely be beneficial to Nigerian economy in terms of export earnings, job creation and wealth creation for families connected with these achievements.”
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Dangote, GTBank emerge most admired African brands
Idowu Sowunmi
For the third time in a row, Dangote Group has emerged as the most admired brand of African origin by consumers.
Also, GTBank has emerged as the most admired financial brand in Africa and the United Kingdom’s BBC retained its media category ranking as the most admired media brand in separate category sub-surveys.
This was disclosed in a survey of 100 Africa best brands announced in a novel global virtual event that incorporated the market openings of Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.
African brands only occupy 13 of the 100 entries, seven less from last year.
The consumer-led survey sought to establish brand preferences across Africa. The survey was conducted among a representative sample of respondents 18 years and older, in 27 countries which collectively represent 50 per cent of the continent, covering all economic regions and accounting for an estimated 80 per cent of the population and the GDP of Africa.
The 2020 survey was conducted between February and April 2020 and yielded over 15,000 brand mentions and over 2,000 unique brands.
Established 10 years ago, the Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands survey and rankings have become the most authoritative survey, analysis, and metric of brands in Africa.
Founder and Chairman of Brand Africa and Brand Leadership, Thebe Ikalafeng, during an online interactive session via Zoom, said: “African brands have an important role in helping to build the image, competitiveness and transforming the continent’s promise into a real change.”
He expressed concerns that 10 years after “the triumphant FIFA World Cup in South Africa which globally highlighted the promise and capability of Africa, and despite the vibrant entrepreneurial environment, Africa is not creating more competitive brands to meet the needs of its growing consumer market”.
Global Client Development Manager, GeoPoll, Caitlin van Niekerk, in his remarks, said: “The reach and accessibility of mobile across the continent enabled us to survey respondents across a representative sample of countries quickly and effectively, giving us vital and timely results at a critical time. Kantar has been the insight lead for Brand Africa since inception in 2010.”
In his reaction, Group Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Dangote Group, Anthony Chiejina, said the management was not unexpected of the ranking because the company has a long standing reputation for quality, relevance compliance and social stewardship.
According to him, “Our mission and vision engage and inspire us to by extension connects us with both our internal and external stakeholders.
“We fervently believe that only Africans can develop Africa, and this gives us stronger sense of relevance in all the countries where we have our operations.
“We are touching lives by providing their basic needs and empowering Africans more than ever before; creating jobs reducing capital flight, helping government conserve foreign exchange drain by supporting different industrial infrastructural projects of African government.”
Chiejina noted that Dangote Cement has been producing high quality and affordable cement, reducing poverty, engaging in unprecedented philanthropy and above all respecting the laws of the land where we operate.
He said: “All these are our credo and we do not compromise it, it is our way. And the ranking is just an acknowledgement of all these by our stakeholders, We keep our brand promise and stay authentic.”
Out of the top 100 brands in 2010/11, only half still appear in this year’s list due to mergers, acquisitions and the obsolescence of many brands.
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The most prominent changes are in the technology category with the demise Blackberry (#32 in 2010/11), the consolidation of Vodafone (#54 in 2010/11 and now #13 in 2020) which acquired Vodacom in 2008 and re-branded in 2011, Etisalat (#40 in 2010/11) re-branding to 9 Mobile in 2017 and Motorola (#39) being acquired by Lenovo in 2014.
A Chinese brand, Tecno, has raced up the ranking from #33 to #5 in the rankings – a dominant performance for one of China’s premier global brands that are not even sold in China.