Dangote Group is planning to invest $50 billion in major projects across Africa by 2030, with the group targeting sectors such as infrastructure, minerals, ports, power and chemicals.
Dangote Group President and Chief Executive Aliko Dangote made the announcement on Wednesday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu, saying the company was ready to expand its investments into other areas that can support Africa’s growth.
“Our group has actually earmarked 50 billion dollars to roll out projects under our current plan, which ends in 2030.”
Dangote said the group had the capacity to take on more large-scale investments and called on African governments to identify projects where the company could partner with them.
“We have more capacity to take on investment across critical sectors: infrastructure, minerals, ports, power, chemicals,” he said.
“All you have to do is to tell us what you want, and our team will be ready to work with you and deliver it.”
He said the plan was aimed at supporting the growth of industries and infrastructure within Africa, arguing that countries on the continent needed greater confidence to take on projects that match their economic needs.
“Too often, our greatest deficit has been confidence to undertake projects equal to the scale of our possibilities,” Dangote said. “That must change.”
Dangote urged African countries to focus on major projects that can support economic growth and create opportunities for their people.
“We must stop asking whether Africa can build big. We must start asking how quickly Africa can build what it needs,” he said.
He also linked the Lamu refinery to wider economic opportunities in the region, saying the project would serve markets beyond Kenya and reach parts of East and Southern Africa.
Dangote said East African countries had been allocated up to 30 per cent equity in the refinery, giving them an opportunity to share in profits from its supply and exports.
“The refinery will not only provide security and supply, but will also bring prosperity,” he said.
He said the project would create jobs, improve technical skills and help attract more industries by providing a reliable source of energy.
Dangote acknowledged that projects of such scale would face challenges but said the size of the task should not stop Africa from pursuing major investments.
“There will be people who say again that the ambition is too large, but we also know something else. Nothing transformative was ever built by people who were frightened by the size of the challenge,” he said.
Dangote Group is a diversified business with operations in sectors including cement, refining, fertiliser, sugar, salt, energy and infrastructure.
The group operates in more than 12 African countries and has more than 55,000 employees across the continent.
Its businesses include the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, a 700,000-barrel-per-day integrated refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, and Dangote Cement, which has operations in several African markets.