Nigerian industrialist and businessman, Mr Aliko Dangote, is planning to foray into electricity generation with a 20,000 megawatt project in the pipeline.
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 refines about 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Speaking during a conversation with International Finance Corporation (IFC) Managing Director, Mr Makhtar Diop, the businessman said, “We are now going into power… 20,000 megawatts,” adding that Africa’s most pressing needs remain energy, fertilisers, and industrial inputs.
His plan to enter one of Nigeria’s most difficult sectors comes as the nation continues to face chronic power challenges, with generation capped at around 6,000 megawatts to serve a population of around 200 million.
In March, Mr Dangote announced that his empire will be making an entry into a number of fields, including steel production, electricity generation and port development to support large-scale manufacturing and trade.
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.
The project will need sufficient capital, and recent dialogues with lenders like the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will give Mr Dangote the needed boost.
Already in its long-term growth strategy, Vision 2030: Supercharging Dangote Group for Long Term Success, the African bank outlined a two‑phase expansion programme spanning 2025–2028 and 2028–2030 that will see it back into new venture interests, including ports, pipelines, data centres, and mining.
To drive the growth over the five years, the Dangote Group predicts that it will require at least $40 billion in new investments to realise its continental ambitions.
“This is the very purpose for which our institution was created. As is deeply rooted in our DNA, we do not only listen—we execute and convert aspiration into action,” Afreximbank President, Mr George Elombi, said in April, backing the group’s ambitions.