The chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Helen Brand, has presented an award to the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, in recognition of the latter’s continuing support as a key employer of ACCA members.
Dangote, while receiving the award commented that an ACCA member with an entrepreneurial mindset is more solution driven.
He noted that his company does not have enough ACCA professionals, adding that the Dangote Group and the Nigerian economy was struggling to get talent in finance, especially with the rapid changes in business and technology.
He further stated that the future was bright globally, saying he would continue to work towards wealth creation. He noted that the future in Africa is huge.
Dangote also shared how the profitability of Dangote Group had doubled during recession due to the urgency for cost effectiveness that was created, saying his businesses were considering doing more business outside Africa from 2020, as the African environment tends to pose many barriers for businesses.
According to him, developing capabilities was critical to the growth of businesses and the economy in Nigeria and the future is the SMEs.
Dangote said the progress of intra-Africa trade was getting better with the introduction of the ECOWAS passport. He noted that there were still work to be done with Africans/ African countries having a general acceptance and support of each other to support the objective which is to aid cooperation and not competition.
Brand acknowledging Dangote’s concerns shared results of the ACCA employer-led global research: “Social Mobility: Purpose and the Profession’ which revealed that social mobility was transforming the potential talent pool for professional accountants.