By Ayomide Otitoju
President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said Africa’s ambition to become a global industrial powerhouse depends on reliable electricity, access to long-term financing and policies that promote local manufacturing.
Dangote, who has outlined a $50 billion investment programme for 2026 to 2030, said African countries must strengthen financial institutions, expand power infrastructure and adopt policies that encourage value addition and economic diversification.
He spoke at the 2026 Financial Times Africa Summit in London during a conversation with David Pilling, Africa Editor of the Financial Times.
Dangote said the continent had the natural resources, population and investment opportunities needed to become a major global manufacturing hub but lacked the infrastructure and institutional support required to translate these advantages into sustainable economic growth.
Responding to questions about why Africa had produced relatively few globally competitive industrial enterprises despite its economic potential, he called for deliberate policies to support long-term investments.
“I think the number one thing that the continent has to concentrate on doing is having very strong financial institutions, their own financial institutions, and also to have very strong agricultural policy, and also industrial policy,” he said.
He identified electricity supply as one of the most urgent challenges facing the continent, stressing that industrial development would remain difficult without reliable power.
“For Africa, what we need the most today is actually power,” Dangote said.
He explained that inadequate electricity supply continued to discourage local processing of mineral resources, forcing African countries to export raw materials instead of capturing the greater economic benefits associated with manufacturing.
According to him, mining companies frequently cite unreliable electricity as a major obstacle to establishing processing facilities close to extraction sites.
Dangote estimated that about 650 million Africans lacked access to electricity, describing the deficit as a major constraint on the continent’s industrial ambitions.
He said addressing the power challenge would improve manufacturing prospects, attract investment in mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
Drawing on his experience developing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, the industrialist also highlighted the difficulties African businesses face in securing financing for large-scale projects.
He said the Group had to finance the refinery through its own balance sheet because conventional project financing was difficult to obtain for major industrial investments in Africa.
According to him, prolonged financing negotiations can delay project execution, increase costs and expose investors to changing economic conditions.
Dangote said the refinery project also faced significant financial risks arising from currency depreciation and the high cost of supporting infrastructure.
He recalled that the exchange rate moved from about ₦136 to the dollar to as high as ₦1,800 during the project’s development, while approximately 90 per cent of the Group’s revenue was denominated in naira.
He said the Group’s planned $50 billion investment programme between 2026 and 2030 was intended not only to expand its operations but also to demonstrate the viability of large-scale industrial investments in Africa.
“The legacy we are trying to set up is how do we industrialise our continent?” he said.
Dangote added that the initiative was aimed at encouraging more African investors to participate in projects that could strengthen industrial capacity, generate jobs and retain greater economic value within the continent.
He also urged African governments to adopt policies that support domestic industries against unfair external competition, warning that cheap imports could undermine local manufacturing and discourage investment in factories.
However, he distinguished industrial protection from restrictions on trade among African countries, advocating stronger regional commerce under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said African economies should facilitate trade among themselves while developing a common framework to protect domestic industries against unfair competition from outside the continent.
Dangote also questioned why widespread poverty persisted across Africa despite its extensive agricultural land, mineral wealth and youthful population.
He argued that the continent’s economic challenges reflected insufficient productive investment and industrial capacity rather than a lack of natural resources.
