Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has described his investment in Nigeria’s textile industry as the biggest business mistake of his decades-long career.
Dangote made the disclosure during an interview with ARISE News presenter Ojy Okpe, where he reflected on some of the business decisions and challenges he encountered while building his industrial empire.
The billionaire businessman said he committed billions of naira to the textile industry, including establishing Dangote General Textile Mills in Kano and acquiring the foreign shareholder in Nigeria Textile Mills.
According to Dangote, the investments eventually became unsustainable due to what he described as inadequate protection for local manufacturers and competition from imported textiles.
He specifically blamed what he described as the dumping of Chinese and Indian textiles for worsening the difficulties faced by local manufacturers.
Dangote said the situation eventually forced the closure of the textile businesses, resulting in significant job losses.
He disclosed that almost 8,000 workers were laid off across the textile operations, including 6,920 employees at Nigerian Textile Mills in Ikeja alone.
The industrialist said the experience changed the way he approached subsequent investments, particularly the need to build businesses that can remain competitive even when government protection is withdrawn.
Dangote had previously revealed that his textile investments cost his business billions of naira. In an earlier account, he said the sale of Liberty Merchant Bank generated ₦1,200,000,000, while about ₦985,000,000 of that amount was used to settle pensions and gratuities for workers as the company exited the textile business.
Reflecting on the experience in his latest interview, Dangote identified textiles simply as his biggest business mistake, saying the sector ultimately failed despite the substantial capital committed to it.
The businessman has since concentrated heavily on large-scale industrial ventures, including cement, fertiliser, petrochemicals and petroleum refining.
His Dangote Refinery is currently the subject of a public offering on the Nigerian Exchange, with the company offering 4,100,000,000 shares at ₦525 each in a bid to raise about ₦2,150,000,000,000.
Dangote also used the interview to encourage wealthy Africans to channel more of their resources into productive investments such as factories and industries rather than spending heavily on luxury items.
He argued that industrial investments can create employment, increase local production and reduce Africa’s dependence on imported goods.
Interestingly, Dangote acknowledged that his own attitude towards luxury had changed over time. He revealed that he bought his first private aircraft at about 22 but later shifted his focus towards building long-term industrial businesses.
Today, his business interests span several sectors, including cement, fertiliser, food production, petrochemicals and petroleum refining, with investments across different African countries.
The textile experience, according to Dangote, remains one of the major lessons from his business journey and has influenced his approach to industrial investments.
