$19bn Petrochemicals plant earns Aliko Dangote Afreximbank’s ‘Founder of the Year’ Award

*Aliko Dangote, President/Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, foremost business leader, wins the Afreximbank ‘Founder of the Year’ Award, in Ghana, in recognition of his extraordinary achievements, building one of ‘Africa’s leading industrial groups with a truly pan-African footprint’

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Aliko Dangote, President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, night Monday, June 19, 2023, was accorded the recognition and awarded the “Founder of the Year 2023” Award by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) at a ceremony the transnational Bank held in Accra, Ghanaian capital.

Dangote Group, which disclosed this development Thursday, June 22, said the award was given to Dangote because of his newly opened $19bn oil refinery and petrochemicals plant, regarded as the African largest refinery, located at Ibeju-Lekki, in Lagos State, Nigeria.

Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Plant and Aliko Dangote (Inset)

Olakunle Alake, Group Managing Director (GMD) of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), received the award on behalf of Aliko Dangote, in Ghana.

Objective of the Awards, by Organisers

The organisers of the Awards, in a statement, said: “The Pan-African Business and Development Awards were designed to celebrate and recognise the excellence of outstanding organisations and individuals within the African business and finance sectors.

“The evening recognised some leaders in African business, and Aliko Dangote (GCON) won the Afreximbank Founder of the Year in recognition of his extraordinary achievements building one of Africa’s leading industrial groups with a truly pan-African footprint.”

According to the organisers, Dangote’s recognition comes on the back of the recent official opening of his $19billion petrochemicals plant and Africa’s largest refinery, which received substantial support from Afreximbank.

The statement also said: “Two other greats of industry, the Zimbabwean Strive Masiyiwa and the Togolese Koffi Gervais Djondo, were also recognised for their outstanding contributions to African business and industry.

The organisers disclosed Masiyiwa is the Founder of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which has the largest network of fibre optic cables on the African continent, Cassava Technologies, and Econet, the largest telecoms and mobile payment operator in Zimbabwe.

Djondo helped to found Ecobank, the leading African financial group in terms of footprint, as well as regional airline Asky.

The telecoms operator MTN and Egyptian business ElSewedy also received Special Recognitions awards at the event in Accra.

The organisers further said MTN was recognised for transforming the Africa telecoms sector and ElSewedy for its role in the Africa infrastructure sector.

ElSewedy and Afreximbank have built a strong relationship that has seen its group become a true continental champion and part of a consortium of African banks and private sector companies that are building the multi-billion dollar Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project in Tanzania, it noted.

Three banks, the statement said, were recognised in the Financial Institutions of the Year category. National Bank of Egypt, First Bank of Nigeria and Coris Bank, an important regional player in West Africa that started off in Burkina Faso, were chosen based on their volume of trade finance facilities they have utilised.

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