President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has been appointed Grand Patron of the Global Entrepreneurship Festival.
His role is expected to strengthen efforts to promote enterprise development and connect entrepreneurs with business leaders and investors.
The appointment was formally presented to Dangote during a visit by the board of the Global Entrepreneurship Festival, led by its President, Dr Summy Smart Francis.
The delegation also honoured the industrialist for his contributions to entrepreneurship, business development and economic transformation across Africa.
Receiving the appointment, Dangote expressed appreciation for the recognition and pledged to support the festival.
‘It is a great pleasure to receive this award, and I promise I will do my best,’ he said.
Francis said Dangote’s decades of experience in building businesses and investing across major sectors of the African economy would add value to the festival’s efforts to expand opportunities for entrepreneurs.
The engagement was facilitated by the Vice Chairman of the festival, Dr Elizabeth Jack-Rich, who said her experience with the organisation’s mentorship programme motivated her to help extend similar opportunities to a wider community of entrepreneurs.
‘For me, as a mentee, I have seen tremendous growth since I joined the mentorship programme. That was why I reached out to extend such mentorship to millions of entrepreneurs out there, and I am so grateful for its acceptance,’ Jack-Rich said.
Francis also presented Dangote with the festival’s ‘Global Wheel’, describing it as a symbol of the spread of entrepreneurship and collaboration across different regions.
The 2026 edition of the festival is scheduled to take place in Egypt from November 6 to 8.
The three-day event is expected to feature an opening conference, networking sessions, breakout sessions, a Global Entrepreneurs Gala, a Global Deal Room, an art and creative economy programme, a business exhibition and a Global Leadership Forum.
Other activities include an International Women’s Congress, international fashion show and closing concert.
Speaking on the importance of the festival, Dangote said its major benefit was the opportunity to connect entrepreneurs and business leaders from different parts of the world and explore areas of collaboration.
‘The main benefit of this is actually the connection. It is about connecting, merging and seeing what people can do together. You have people from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and different countries coming together,’ he said.
The festival is expected to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, innovators, policymakers and institutions from Africa and other parts of the world.
Dangote’s appointment comes against the backdrop of his longstanding involvement in large-scale manufacturing and investment across Africa through the Dangote Group, with interests spanning cement, sugar and other sectors of the economy.