President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to invest over $10 billion in Africa’s power sector over the next three or four years to address the continent’s electricity crisis and drive industrialisation.
Dangote stated this in an interview with Al Jazeera, where he highlighted the impact of poor access to electricity on industrial growth across Africa.
“In the next three to four years, there will be a major transformation in Africa, and that’s why we’re looking at power. We are going to invest in power,” Dangote stated.
He highlighted the importance of reliable power supply in economic growth and development across the continent.
To achieve the plan, the Africa’s richest man indicated that the Dangote Group may cancel or scale back certain proposed businesses to redirect capital into power. Specifically, he mentioned potentially abandoning a steel project to free up funds for electricity generation.
“There are one or two businesses that we might cancel, like steel, and we will put the money in power. We want to invest over $10bn alone in power,” he stated.
The investment aims to tackle Africa’s power crisis, where over 600 million people still lack access to electricity. Dangote emphasised that “without power, we will never create growth” and linked reliable electricity directly to industrialisation and job creation.
Dangote argued that Africa must reduce its dependence on imported goods and focus on local production.
He warned that the continent might one day run out funds to continue importing the goods it consumes, making it imperative to invest in domestic production.
“One day we will not have money to import what we are consuming. So how can we remain an import continent? It has to change. But that change can only happen when Africans believe in Africa, and they invest in Africa,” he stated.
He sees reliable power as the prerequisite for building industries and creating sustainable jobs across the continent.
He noted that delivering consistent power would have significant political consequences, suggesting that politicians who solve the electricity problem may not need to campaign as heavily during elections.
He also cited inconsistent government policies and inadequate power as key deterrents to broader investment in Africa.
This move represents a major strategic shift for the Dangote Group, prioritizing energy infrastructure to unlock broader economic transformation across Africa.
Dangote called on African entrepreneurs to prioritise investing in the continent, maintaining that foreign investors would participate more when local investors take the lead, demonstrating confidence in African economies.
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Dangote Plans to Expand Fertiliser Production
Dangote also announced plans by the group to expand its fertiliser business as part of a broader strategy to become the world’s largest urea producer by 2028.
He also disclosed the company’s plans to list its various businesses on the Nigerian capital market.
Dangote said the proposed listings would provide members of the public with opportunities to become part-owners of the group’s businesses while deepening participation in the capital market.
According to him, the group’s businesses generate their income in dollars, which would enable investors to receive dividends in dollars.
He said the planned initial public offerings (IPOs) would transform the Nigerian capital market and attract investors from across Africa.
Dangote said, “100 per cent of our income is in dollars,” adding that the planned listings would take the Nigerian capital market to “a totally different level.”
He explained that the group would progressively bring its different businesses to the market, allowing Nigerians and other African investors to participate in their ownership.
The billionaire industrialist also reflected on the challenges encountered during the development of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, attributing some of the resistance faced by the project to interests that had benefited from Nigeria’s former fuel subsidy regime.
The planned expansion of the fertiliser business comes as Dangote continues to deepen the group’s investments in strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy, including manufacturing, energy and petrochemicals.
The company’s fertiliser operations have become a major component of its industrial portfolio, with the expansion plan aimed at increasing urea production and strengthening Nigeria’s position in the global fertiliser market.
The proposed listings are also expected to broaden the ownership base of Dangote’s businesses while providing the Nigerian capital market with access to large-scale industrial assets.
Victor Ezeja is a Nigerian journalist skilled in producing insightful news analyses, feature stories, and interviews that simplify complex issues and drive informed public discourse. His work combines rigorous research, balanced reporting, and compelling storytelling to highlight developments shaping industries and society. Victor, who holds a Master's Degree in Mass Communication, specializes in energy, aviation, business, and economic reporting. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X