Dangote Lifts Africa Investment Target to $70bn, Sets Sights on 10,000MW Power Push

The president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has revealed plans to raise the group’s investment programme across Africa from $50 billion to roughly $70 billion under its Vision 2030 agenda.

Central to the plan is a large-scale push into electricity generation, targeting 10,000 megawatts across the continent, potentially including Nigeria.

Dangote outlined the strategy while hosting creative industry figures from Northern Nigeria, among them content creators, journalists, bloggers, entertainers and Kannywood actors, on a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Petrochemicals and Fertiliser plants in Lekki, Lagos.

He said broadening production, generating employment and delivering dependable power were prerequisites for unlocking Nigeria’s economic capacity.

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Unreliable electricity, he noted, remains one of the biggest threats to small and medium-sized enterprises, cautioning that firms reliant on petrol and diesel generators face an uphill battle to stay profitable.

“We initially planned to invest $50 billion. We are now looking at increasing that to about $70 billion in Africa,” he said.

Setting out the rationale for Vision 2030, Dangote argued that African businesses must shoulder more of the burden of financing the continent’s development and fixing the infrastructure gaps that deter outside capital.

Inconsistent government policy and erratic power supply, he said, continue to weigh heavily on investment decisions.

Within its own operations, he explained, the group had largely resolved the power problem by producing its own electricity.

“Across the group, we currently have almost 1,500 megawatts. By the time we complete Vision 2030, that could rise to between 4,500 and 5,000 megawatts.

“That is captive power, electricity for our own operations. Separately, part of the vision is to intervene in power generation with 10,000 megawatts across Africa, potentially including Nigeria,” he said.

Asked which single economic step would do most to improve the lives of ordinary Nigerians, Dangote returned repeatedly to electricity as the foundation of the country’s development.

Households and companies buying their own alternative power systems, he argued, would not on their own fix the broader economic malaise.

“Installing solar power for yourself does not mean the wider problem has been solved. Other people may not have that option,” he said.

“A vibrant economy is driven by small and medium-sized enterprises. Large companies such as ours help sustain those businesses, but SMEs are essential to economic activity. When you generate electricity using diesel or petrol, it becomes very difficult to make money,” he added.

Dangote voiced confidence in Nigeria’s entrepreneurial energy, insisting the country had yet to tap the full rewards of its sizeable and fast-moving economy.

Businesses, he said, were obliged to invest and open up opportunities, while government’s focus should be on the policies and conditions that let enterprises flourish.

“Government’s principal responsibility is to create an enabling environment through good policies. With the right policies, businesses can invest and create jobs,” he said.

Agriculture and solid minerals, he said, hold considerable promise, especially in Northern Nigeria, though he warned that the country must stop exporting raw, unprocessed commodities.

Spending on infrastructure, ports included, he noted, could open new markets for other producers and ease the path for firms seeking to develop and ship their goods abroad.

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