Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has urged African entrepreneurs, business leaders, and wealthy individuals to channel their investments into the continent instead of moving capital abroad.
Naijaonpoint reports that Dangote made this call while hosting participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme from the Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, during a visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
Dangote stressed that Africa holds immense potential and only needs bold investments to transform its fortunes and compete globally.
He cited the Dangote Refinery, currently the world’s largest single-train refinery, as proof that African-led mega-projects are achievable, despite challenges.
“There will always be challenges. In fact, life without challenges isn’t exciting. You just hope for the kind of challenges you can overcome—not the ones that overwhelm you,” he stated.
Reflecting on the refinery’s journey, Dangote said despite scepticism and hurdles, the group remained committed to its vision.
“Now that we’ve built this refinery, we believe we can do anything. We aim to make our fertiliser company the largest in the world—and we’ve set ourselves a 40-month timeline,” he declared.
Invest Locally, Trust Local Leadership
Dangote warned against the consistent capital flight by wealthy Africans, calling it a major barrier to the continent’s development.
He said, “We, as Africans, must stop taking our money abroad. We should invest it here to build our countries and the continent.
“As for me, I don’t take my money out of Africa. If we don’t show confidence in our own economies and leadership, foreign investors certainly won’t. After all, we know our leaders better than anyone else.”
He argued that while many African countries had gained political independence, they remained economically dependent, urging private sector leaders to take the lead in reversing the trend.
Acknowledging the economic difficulties and infrastructural gaps on the continent, Dangote encouraged entrepreneurs to remain steadfast and acquire in-depth knowledge of their industries.
“If you think small, you don’t grow. If you think big, you grow. It’s better to try and fail than never to try at all,” he advised.
He further pointed out the need for a strong banking sector, thriving agriculture, and robust manufacturing as critical to Africa’s economic transformation.
He lamented that it was cheaper to import goods from Europe than to move goods within West Africa, citing the example of transporting cement clinker from Nigeria to Ghana costing more than importing from Spain.