Share

Africa's richest man to invest up to $50bn in US, Europe

Abuja - Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to invest $20bn to $50bn in the US and Europe by 2025, in industries including renewable energy and petrochemicals.

The 60-year-old Nigerian cement tycoon aims to move into these territories for the first time in 2020 after completing almost $5bn of agricultural projects and an $11bn oil refinery in his home country, he said in an interview with Bloomberg Markets Magazine this month.

“Beginning in 2020, 60% of our future investments will be outside Africa, so we can have a balance,” said Dangote, worth $11.6bn, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. Dangote Group’s major investment will be in the US and Europe, he said. “I think renewables is the way to go forward, and the future. We are looking at petrochemicals but can also invest in other companies.” 

Dangote has diversified rapidly in the last five years, both geographically and into new industries. He’s expanded Dangote Cement, which accounts for almost 80% of his wealth, into nine African countries aside from Nigeria.

In 2015, he began building a 650 000 barrel-a-day refinery near Lagos, Nigeria’s main commercial hub, and he’s constructing gas pipelines to the city from Nigeria’s oil region with US private equity firms Carlyle and Blackstone. He said in July he’d invest $4.6bn in the next three years in sugar, rice and dairy production.

Telecoms unappealing

“When you look at it - not just in Nigeria but in the rest of Africa - the majority of countries here depend on imported food,” he said. “There is no way you can have a population of 320 million in West Africa and no self-sufficiency. So the first thing to do is food security. I believe Dangote Group is in the right position to drive this trajectory.”

Dangote, who mostly lives in Lagos and counts Bill Gates among his friends, said he is a passionate industrialist and rules out moving into newer sectors such as telecommunications or technology.

“When I look at telecoms, for instance, I think that would be very tough for us,” he said. “Some players have been in this market for 17 years already. There’s no way you can go and jump over somebody after 17 years of their hard work. So I think we would pass when it comes to telecoms today. There are other businesses that we understand better.”

Dangote also said he isn’t planning to enter Nigerian politics.

“I’m not interested,” he said. “I enjoy a lot of what I am doing, and I also love my freedom - and I don’t have too much. The little I have, politics would take away. There are businessmen who are interested in politics. I’m not one of them.”

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter:

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.98
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
24.14
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.63
-0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.39
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.3%
Platinum
911.88
-1.3%
Palladium
1,019.74
-4.3%
Gold
2,160.25
-0.0%
Silver
25.10
+0.3%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
66,252
0.0%
All Share
72,431
0.0%
Resource 10
53,317
0.0%
Industrial 25
100,473
0.0%
Financial 15
16,622
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders