Africa’s Croesus Aliko Dangote inspired by Reliance; now seeks to rival Jamnagar refinery

A visit to Jamnagar may have inspired Alhaji Aliko Dangote to attempt his most audacious business decision of his career – a $20 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex on 2500 hectares of swampland outside Lagos – the single largest of its kind in the world. But it was the business evolution of Tata Group that served as a model for the Nigerian billionaire, also the richest in the African continent, to fundamentally pivot his entrepreneurial journey to try and prove Nigeria can do more than barter and trade. It can also build and manufacture.