Halima, other Dangote’s Daughters on DIL’s Management Board

Halimat, Mariya, and fatima—all Aliko Dangote‘s daughters—don’t readily make headlines. Just like their father, the world’s richest black man, doesn’t. But the young women are making waves, big ones. And before anyone knows it, one of the three may head the Dangote Industries Limited. The group raked in over $4 billion (before the refinery launched) annually.

For now, the three businesswomen and philanthropists are sitting pretty in major capacities in their father’s business empire. A shrewd businessman himself, Dangote’s isn’t just kicking them upstairs. Or else all of them will have their seat on the boards of directors of their choices.

Not so easy with Dangote.

Mariya, the eldest of the three is the only one so far who has worked enough to earn it. With a Bachelor of Legislative Laws (LL.B) and an MBA from Coventry University in the UK, she first served for years as executive director of operation at the Dangote Sugar Refinery. 

Her focus included business strategy, advanced management, alternative dispute resolution, sugar processing, and productivity optimisation.

Last year, she got a leg-up to the sugar refinery board of directors.

Halimat, the second daughter, has a Bachelors’ Degree in Marketing from American Intercontinental University, London, and an MBA from Webster Business School. Her career started as an analyst at KPMG, and spanned 13 years before she joined her dad’s conglomerate. She served as executive director of NASCON and Dangote Flour Mills on separate tenure. 

Functioning as a group executive director, commercial operations, that she is, now requires such years and experience.

She also serves as a non-executive director on the Dangote Cement’s board of directors.

Fatima  is the group executive director, commercial operations now. With an LLB from the University of Surrey, and executive programmes at Columbia University, Cambridge, Fatima bestrides two worlds. 

Before now, her role was complex: as the executive director, commercial, at NASCON; a technical specialist in the strategy unit. She equally served as an executive assistant to the group executive director, business development and portfolio management.

She’s now group executive director, operations.