Nigerian billionaire Dangote sets sights on $70 billion Africa investment

Cape Town – Nigerian billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has increased his investment target across Africa to $70 billion (approximately R1.1 trillion), up from $60 billion announced just a week earlier, as he steps up plans to expand the continent’s industrial and energy infrastructure.

According to Billionaires.Africa, Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries, is also considering a 10,000-megawatt electricity generation programme spanning several African countries, potentially including Nigeria.

The latest investment target represents a significant increase from the $50 billion initially earmarked for African industrial development by 2030.

Speaking about the expanded programme, Dangote said: “We initially planned to invest $50 billion. We are now looking at increasing that to about $70 billion in Africa,” according to Nigeria’s The Guardian.

The continent’s major obstacles

The proposed electricity programme is intended to address one of the continent’s major obstacles to industrialisation: unreliable power supply, which has forced many businesses to depend on expensive diesel and petrol generators.

Dangote has increasingly focused on energy infrastructure as part of his continental expansion strategy.

Earlier this month, he launched a $2.5 billion fuel storage and pipeline project in Namibia’s Walvis Bay. The project includes a proposed 1,700-kilometre pipeline connecting Namibia with neighbouring countries, including Botswana and South Africa, with the potential to extend to other regional markets.

According to Reuters, the facility will have storage capacity of approximately four million barrels of fuel and is expected to strengthen regional fuel distribution and energy security.

Dangote said the investment would help landlocked countries access petroleum products at more competitive prices, while reducing logistical challenges associated with fuel transportation.

Broader expansion ambitions 

His broader expansion ambitions also include a planned $16 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Kenya’s Lamu region, alongside fuel distribution infrastructure in East and Central Africa.

The Mail & Guardian reported that the investments form part of a wider strategy to reduce Africa’s dependence on imported finished products by expanding local manufacturing and processing capacity.

Dangote has consistently argued that African countries must take greater responsibility for developing their economies and processing their own natural resources.

However, while the investment ambitions are substantial, several proposed projects remain at the planning or approval stages, with financing arrangements and construction timelines for some of the infrastructure still to be confirmed.

The latest announcement signals Dangote’s growing ambition to position his business empire as a major driver of industrialisation, energy security and regional trade across Africa.