Nigerian businessman, Aliko Dangote owns Dangote Group and is worth $13 billion according to Forbes. He sat with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua to discuss his business conglomerate, his undying support for Arsenal FC, his refinery under construction and the difficulties of doing business in Nigeria.

Here are 10 things we learnt from the interview:

He’s building the largest refinery in the world

“We had already studied doing 300,000 barrels a day back in 2005. At that time I couldn’t even fathom a larger refinery. I had no financial capacity. Then in about 2010 we paid all ­Dangote Group’s debts, which amounted to $2 billion, and started accumulating cash. When we decided to build the refinery of our dreams, we reviewed our plans again and put the figure at 400,000. Then it jumped up to 650,000.”

“At the moment we are a little bit off track. We didn’t really realize that we were going to need almost 70 million cubic meters of sand. But we are catching up, and I’m sure we’ll be able to deliver it by the last quarter of 2017”

His company is going into gas production

“We have a gas pipeline, for instance. We are trying to bring gas to Nigeria. The total gas that will come out is on par with the likes of Shell and other people. This will transform Nigeria because, as we speak, we have about 6,800 megawatts of power capacity that has been installed but not been put to use, the reason being that we don’t have the infrastructure.”

How his business started 

“I went to a company called Arisco. It was my first time seeing more than 600 people working in a single factory. I went there to visit them and see how they started the business. They had begun very small: salt, then seasoning—adding garlic into the salt. By the time I was there, Arisco was producing 500 different items, even toothpaste. You couldn’t wake up in the morning without using their products.”

“When I looked at it, especially with Africa in mind, I thought, This is the right way to go. There isn’t going to be any mistake, I don’t think, going into industry. So we made that first bold move in Lagos and said, “We are going to start.” Our first cement factory had the capacity to produce 5 million tons a year. Nigeria as a whole was producing only 2 million tons back then. And we had never built a cement factory, but that’s how we started. ”

“Back when we first tried cement in 1978, I was just trading—buying four trucks of cement, selling it, and making my money. Almost every day I was getting an allocation of four trucks. The business grew, but then we decided to dump cement so we could get into sugar, rice, and other commodities. When we went back into cement with that first factory, within the first year, we went from zero market share in Nigeria to about 45 percent.”

The difficulties he’s faced in constructing the refinery

“For the refinery, almost every single thing was imported from abroad. One of the difficulties was that most of our ports are not designed to receive heavy equipment; 75 percent of the cargo we need for the refinery cannot be offloaded in the port of Lagos. One piece of equipment weighed 2,870 tons! No port in Nigeria is designed for cargo that heavy. So we built our own jetty, about 1 kilometer in the ocean, which was a major project. We couldn’t get local cranes to hire, either. We had to go and buy 300 cranes. Then there’s manpower, which we also brought from abroad—almost 30,000 people, because we didn’t have a trained workforce for these massive projects. We are building housing for the foreign workers and expect to have between 35,000 and 40,000 workers at the peak of the project, including locals, whom we will house outside the refinery. So, you know, running businesses in Africa is good, but it’s not easy. You have to be on top of what you are doing.”

Possible interest in telecommunications and technology?

“We are a little late. Some players have been in this market for 17 years already. There’s no way you can go and jump over somebody after 17 years of their hard work. So I think we would pass when it comes to telecom today. There are other businesses that we understand better.”

“I think technology is not really one of the areas we want to go into right now. If I am going to invest in a tech company, I can buy shares, but it’s not something I want to go in and run. I am very passionate about industrialization—more than going into a tech company. It doesn’t make any sense for us to go direct there.”

He will still acquire the English football club, Arsenal

“Once I deliver the refinery, I will go after Arsenal.”

“Even when Arsenal isn’t doing well I still stick by them. It’s a great team, well-run. It could be run better, so I will be there. I will wait. Even if things change I will take it and make the difference going forward.”

He will never run for president or any political office

“I’m not interested. There’s quite a lot we can do from the business side. I enjoy a lot of what I am doing, and I also love my freedom—and I don’t have too much. The little I have, politics would take away. I am not ready to give that up. There are businessmen who are interested in politics. I’m not one of them”

Dangote Group does not need any government support

“We don’t go and give people in politics money for favors. I’ve told presidents of countries, “I’m a contractor, I’m running a business, I don’t need any favors.” And really when you look at it today, in all our businesses, we don’t need any favors. I’m saying this here and now. I can tell you today, as we speak, that we, Dangote Group, don’t have any agreements on our fertilizer, our refinery, our agriculture. We don’t have any support at all. We’ve done our numbers. We think this business will work, and we don’t need government support.”

His philanthropic efforts

“I think one of the legacies to leave is how much of an impact have I had for my own people. Really, when you look at it, we are pushing hard on the business and also on the philanthropic side. I want to make the most impact on the world before I depart. I hope to start from home first and grow from there.”

“Even in our own foundation we are 70 percent Nigeria, 20 percent rest of Africa, and then 10 percent the rest of world. As we progress we will reduce that portion of Nigeria. Because as we grow, also the foundation will keep growing. It is my own dream not only to be a champion of Africa, but also a champion of the world.”

This billionaire does not have a house outside Nigeria

“I’m not a person who just likes to throw away money. I spend more money on charitable things than myself. Luckily, myself and my children, we have been very disciplined. That’s why if you look at it today, because of the way I run my lifestyle, I actually don’t have any home outside Nigeria. I stay in hotels. Quiet. Simple. My life is not very lavish, and I actually get very embarrassed if I try to show that I have money. I don’t. I think I always advise people that it’s better to be very communal. In Lagos, I drive myself around on weekends. I ask my driver to go rest, and then I drive myself around. I still visit my normal friends I grew up with. My house is open 24 hours a day for them. I mingle with everybody. That’s the only way to get to know what’s going on.”