Africa’s richest man has ambitious plans for the continent

 Daily Trust, Abuja

African businessmen are often minor players at times of global crises. But Mr Dangote is no ordinary businessman. In 2023, nearly a decade after it was first proposed, the 68-year-old opened Africa’s largest refinery complex outside Lagos, on an area nearly half the size of Manhattan. As it can process 650,000 barrels of oil per day, Mr Dangote’s phone does not stop ringing with offers from potential buyers. “People are ready to pay anything now,” he says, with only some exaggeration.

The refinery is emblematic of Mr Dangote’s increasing wealth and power. It is by far the largest scheme owned by the Dangote Group, the conglomerate behind his estimated fortune of $28.5bn, an amount that makes him the only African among the world’s 100 richest people, according to Forbes. But Mr Dangote suggests that the refinery symbolises something more: the need for the continent to become more self-reliant. “If we Africans don’t lead in the industrialisation of Africa, Africa will never industrialise,” he argues. And though no one should confuse the tycoon with an altruist, he may just be right.

An indispensable conglomerate

The refinery is a macroeconomic feat as well as an industrial one. Last year the IMF estimated that, if run at full capacity, it would increase Nigeria’s non-oil GDP by 1.5% between 2025 and 2026, while increasing official dollar reserves by $5.5bn annually. For decades Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest crude producer, has imported most of its petrol, which governments subsidised. Mr Dangote’s refinery, which can more than cover Nigeria’s domestic petrol consumption when running at full tilt, helps reduce demand for dollars and supports the value of the local naira. “Nigeria would have been at a standstill now without the refinery,” Mr Dangote says.

Learn about Mr Dangote’s past and future plans.

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