Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, is moving to institutionalise his family fortune as his Dubai-based family office prepares to ramp up operations in 2027, with plans to oversee investments, strengthen governance and position the business empire for survival across as many as 10 generations.
The family office, led by Dangote’s daughter Halima, is expected to become a central investment vehicle for the family while connecting its capital to opportunities across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
“By the first quarter of next year, you will start to see the presence of the family office,” Halima said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Lagos.
She said the office would focus on governance, capital management and philanthropy, reflecting a broader effort to build structures capable of preserving the family’s wealth and business interests beyond the current generation.
“The goal is for the business to survive eight to 10 generations,” she said.
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The move places the Dangote family among a small but growing number of wealthy Nigerian families establishing dedicated family offices to manage investments, preserve wealth and plan for succession.
Among them is the UK-based family office of Theophilus Danjuma, the retired general who built his fortune in oil and shipping. Another is the Tengen Family Office, founded by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and his late business partner Herbert Wigwe, who helped build Access Bank into a lender operating across about 20 countries before his death in a helicopter crash in 2024.
Dangote, 69, founded the Dangote Group about 45 years ago, transforming a commodities trading business into a conglomerate with interests spanning cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, oil and gas.
The family office is aligned with the group’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to strengthen governance and increase annual revenue fivefold to $100 billion.
Its international ambitions extend beyond managing the family’s existing assets. Halima said the office would seek to connect Africa with investment opportunities in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, while also pursuing Sharia-compliant investments.
The structure is also intended to support Dangote’s broader vision of contributing to Africa’s industrialisation through long-term capital deployment.
The family office’s expansion follows a February internal memo that elevated Halima and her two sisters to senior positions across the Dangote Group, signalling a more deliberate transition towards the next generation of leadership.
Mariya Dangote, the eldest daughter, heads operations in the food businesses and leads commercial strategy at the cement unit, while Fatima Dangote, the youngest, oversees sales at the refinery and fertiliser businesses.
Although Halima is leading the family office, she said its development is a collective family effort involving her father, sisters and legal advisers.
“My sisters, my dad, the lawyers, all of us are involved,” she said.
For the Dangote family, the initiative represents a shift from building a business empire to building institutions capable of preserving its wealth, investments and influence long after its founder is gone.
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