President and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called on African entrepreneurs to prioritise investment within the continent, stating that domestic investment is key to attracting foreign capital.
Dangote made the appeal during the ‘Imo State Economic Summit 2025’, held on Thursday in Owerri, the state capital.
He said, “If we don’t invest at home, there is nobody on earth who will come and invest here. What attracts foreign investors is the domestic investments, and that’s what we are doing.”
The industrialist lauded President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, describing them as bold steps that are already yielding benefits.
“I want to first of all thank President Bola Tinubu for his bold policies, which are already yielding results. He really took some bold economic steps, one of which was the removal of fuel subsidy,” he stated.
“Those of us who have scratched the surface of the business environment in Nigeria are now benefiting from our decisions.”
Dangote recounted a recent interview with CNN, during which he explained why he decided to double the capacity of his refinery.
“Yesterday, while I was being interviewed by CNN, they asked why I decided to double the capacity of my refinery to make it the largest in the world, from 650,000 barrels per day. I told them that I don’t have anywhere else to go and invest but at home,” says Dangote.
Africa Has Global Investment Potential
Reaffirming his belief in the continent’s untapped potential, Dangote said, “There are so many potential and mineral resources in Africa. Africa has about 30 per cent of the world’s minerals, and there are lots of people fighting to have these minerals.
“If we don’t lead the way by putting down investment, who do we expect to come and invest in our continent? And we at Dangote Group have taken up that leadership in making sure that people come here to invest heavily.”
On economic development, Dangote stressed the importance of reliable electricity, noting that no real growth can occur without power.
“There can never be growth without power,” he said, while congratulating Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, for the 375-megawatt electricity initiative.
He also assured Governor Uzodimma of his intention to invest in the state and expressed confidence in the region’s economic prospects.
“You tell me which is the best area to invest in; we are investors,” Dangote said. “I can tell you that in the next three years, the programme we have in the Dangote Group, we are investing heavily in fertiliser.”
According to him, Dangote Group plans to become the biggest fertiliser investor in Nigeria by 2028.
“We want to become the number one fertiliser plant in Nigeria by 2028. We are moving from 3 million tons of urea to 12 million tons,” the billionaire businessman said.
He further revealed that the Dangote Refinery would eventually refine up to 1.4 million barrels of crude oil per day as part of its expansion strategy.
“The refinery will be at 1.4 million barrels per day, this has never been done anywhere,” Dangote concluded.
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