Keypoints:
- Dangote named among TIME’s most influential global philanthropists
- Only Nigerian in the ‘Titans’ category
- Honoured for transformative impact through his foundation
ALIKO Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man and founder of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, has been recognised by TIME Magazine as one of the most influential philanthropists in the world. The announcement came on May 21 with the release of the inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list, which celebrates global changemakers redefining the future of giving.
Dangote was named among 23 individuals in the ‘Titans’ category, a distinction that includes global figures such as Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda French Gates. He is the only Nigerian and one of the few Africans to make the prestigious list.
Africa’s billionaire with a giving heart
While renowned for his $23.9bn business empire spanning cement, agriculture, and oil refining, TIME praised Dangote for his deep commitment to social impact through the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF). The foundation spends more than $35 million annually on philanthropic initiatives across the continent.
In a statement following the announcement, Dangote said: ‘Investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success.’
He added: ‘I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.’
This commitment was formalised in 2014 when he endowed ADF with $1.25bn, making it one of the largest private foundations in Africa.
Fighting malnutrition, disease, and inequality
One of the foundation’s flagship programmes is a $100 million multi-year initiative to combat severe childhood malnutrition in Nigeria and its neighbours.
ADF also collaborated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Nigerian health agencies to help eradicate polio in Africa, a milestone celebrated by the World Health Organisation in 2020.
Education is another priority. The foundation recently donated $10 million to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology in Kano. In 2019, it gifted N1.2bn to fund student accommodation at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria—the largest university donation ever made by a private individual in Nigeria.
Building futures from the grassroots
Through its Mu Shuka Iri (‘Let’s Plant a Seed’) programme, the foundation trains local women, called ‘Aunties’, in Montessori methods to provide early childhood education in underserved Kano communities.
Beyond that, ADF supports scholarships, vocational training, and international fellowships through partnerships with bodies like the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme.
Dangote expressed hope that his daughters will continue the family’s legacy of combining enterprise with service to humanity.
With his inclusion in TIME’s 2025 Philanthropy list, Dangote now stands among the world’s most respected voices in global development—demonstrating that wealth, when purposefully deployed, can transform millions of lives.
