The President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in Africa’s power sector over the next three to four years. This announcement is coming on the heels of the confirmation of a 2028 stock market listing for its fertiliser business, which it intends to grow into the largest fertiliser company on Earth.
Aliko disclosed the power investment plan during an interview, stressing that reliable electricity remains critical to economic growth and industrial development across the continent. He noted that more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, describing the situation as one the continent “should not really allow.”
“Power is key. We will never, ever create growth without power,” Dangote said, adding that expanding access to reliable electricity would support industrial activity, attract investment, and drive broader economic growth. He also linked improved power supply to public perception of government performance, arguing that delivering electricity could ease the pressure on politicians to campaign so hard for re-election.
Similarly, Dangote confirmed that the group’s fertiliser business, Dangote Fertiliser, will go public in 2028. Speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum, he said the listing would position the company as the biggest fertiliser producer in the world. When asked directly about the timeline, he responded plainly: “Yes, it will be 2028.”
Dangote Fertiliser currently operates a $2.5 billion production complex in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, with an annual granulated urea capacity of about three million tonnes; already described as Africa’s largest facility of its kind. Under the expansion plan, urea production capacity is expected to rise to 12 million tonnes annually across operations in Nigeria and Ethiopia. The company also plans to develop potash and phosphate mines and produce 2.2 million tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser.
Dangote said the expanded capacity would allow the business to supply more than 40 percent of Africa’s fertiliser demand, reducing the continent’s reliance on imports. He linked the push partly to disruptions in global fertiliser supply chains following the Russia-Ukraine war, which he said exposed Africa’s vulnerability to shortages from traditional suppliers.
The fertiliser IPO plan follows a similar move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, whose ongoing share offer, marketed as the “people’s IPO,” has drawn strong interest from Nigerian retail investors and is targeting 10 million shareholders. Dangote described the strategy as an effort to “bring democracy into capital markets in Africa” by widening public ownership of major businesses. The refinery is also being positioned for expansion, from its current 700,000 barrels-per-day capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.
Dangote further disclosed that the group is investing between $46 billion and $50 billion across the African continent as part of its broader expansion strategy, spanning refining, fertiliser, petrochemicals, and infrastructure. He said the African Development Bank has provided a $6 billion credit line that can be deployed toward either petroleum products or fertiliser operations.
Ahead of the planned fertiliser listing, Dangote Industries had earlier appointed Ralph Mupita, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, to the board of Dangote Fertiliser Limited, a move widely seen as part of preparations for the IPO.
