When the name Aliko Dangote comes up, images of cement, wealth, influence, and stability immediately spring to mind. He is widely regarded as the epitome of African business success, the standard every entrepreneur aspires to reach. Yet what is often overlooked is that Dangote’s journey to the top was marked by repeated failures, some of them monumental.
In this edition of Executive EDGE, we focus on eight of Dangote’s ventures that failed and the lessons they offer. These are not stories of defeat, but of insight. Behind the cement factories, sugar refineries, and sprawling businesses lie investments that collapsed, strategies that faltered, and bold risks that did not pay off. These experiences shaped the instincts, resilience, and decision-making that now define one of Africa’s most formidable entrepreneurs.
Born in 1957 into a trading family in Kano, Dangote understood commerce from an early age. But it was not his background alone that set him apart, it was his ability to learn from failure. By examining the businesses that did not succeed, this edition uncovers the hard-earned lessons behind Dangote’s unmatched rise and the principles every entrepreneur can apply on their journey to lasting success.
