How You Can Get Government Support Just as Dangote Group

After the publication of this piece where I noted how entrepreneurs can use the accumulation of capability to improve their abilities to create wealth, as Dangote Group does, most people noted that Dangote Group has been receiving government support. The assertion is that Dangote Group gets perks from Nigerian government and that has driven its success. In this piece, I explain how you can also get the same level of government support that Dangote gets. It is called Conglomerate Tax and it is done all over the world. The more a firm operates at the upstream, asset heavy, high risk, and long-term view level, the more it needs goodies from governments.

And for governments that want help to put infrastructure at high pain levels, they always listen. U.S government could give Carnegie free land for rail-roads but may not give any to a man that wants to build a toothpick factory. Similarly, Nigerian government can give goodies to Dangote Refinery and may struggle to offer same to a businessman that wants to import toothbrush.

The good news is that Nigeria needs airports, semiconductor plants, seaports etc and anyone with the north of $2 billion to invest will get nice goodies. But if tomorrow, Dangote comes to them, when they become his interests, do not think he is special to government. Government is looking for people to get such as we write. I know that Akwa Ibom State wants someone to invest $4 billion for a deep seaport with many goodies. But you need to have the cash to get the goodies. If Dangote wakes up in 15 years to do so because none has taken action, some will say he is getting another goody. A person that wants to invest $1 billion in a developing economy, and fails to get a goody from government is a bad businessperson.

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