African industrialist, Mr Aliko Dangote, is setting his eyes on steel production, electricity generation and port development to support large-scale manufacturing and trade.
He told The New York Times in a recent interview that his ambition is to accelerate industrialisation across Africa.
He currently has business interests in cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, and petrochemicals, with his latest project being the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Lagos, which produces about 650,000 barrels of refined products daily.
The businessman said his long-term goal is to deepen the continent’s manufacturing base beyond oil refining and position it as a global industrial force.
“We have to industrialise Africa,” Mr Dangote said, noting that his next focus areas include the steel industry, expanding access to electricity and building additional port infrastructure to support large-scale manufacturing and trade.
Industry analysts say entry into steel would position the group in a sector critical to infrastructure, housing and heavy industry, while investments in power and ports could address two of Nigeria’s most persistent constraints to economic growth.
Mr Dangote cited India’s Tata Group as a model for diversified industrial expansion, describing the conglomerate’s multi-sector footprint as an example of how large-scale manufacturing can transform emerging economies.
Beyond expansion, Mr Dangote said job creation remains central to his strategy. With Nigeria projected to require between 40 and 50 million new jobs by 2030, he argued that large-scale industrial projects are essential to absorbing the country’s growing youth population.
The refinery alone currently employs about 30,000 workers, approximately 80 per cent of them Nigerians. Expansion across new sectors is expected to raise total employment within the group to about 65,000.
Mr Dangote also announced plans to list shares in the refinery on the Nigerian stock market, a move that would broaden local participation in the asset.
Despite progress, he acknowledged that infrastructure gaps and crude supply challenges remain obstacles. He has previously raised concerns about logistics bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the oil value chain that complicate feedstock supply to the refinery.
Nevertheless, he said the group would continue to invest aggressively in sectors that reduce import dependence and retain economic value within Africa.
“Nobody dared to do it, so we did it,” he said, reiterating his belief that large-scale private investment is key to transforming Nigeria’s industrial landscape.
With cement plants operating across multiple African countries and a refinery that has reshaped Nigeria’s downstream outlook, Mr Dangote’s next push into steel, electricity and port infrastructure signals a new phase in his ambition to industrialise the continent.