Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, says the conglomerate is preparing a new phase of expansion into steel production, electricity generation and port development, as part of a broader plan to accelerate industrialisation across Africa and deepen the continent’s manufacturing base beyond oil refining.
In a statement on Monday, Dangote said the long-term ambition is to position Africa as a serious industrial force by building large-scale productive capacity and the infrastructure needed to sustain it especially power and logistics. While his Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals is now operational, he stressed that refining is only one part of a bigger agenda.
“We have to industrialise Africa,” he said, adding that the next focus areas include steel, power and additional port infrastructure to support large-scale manufacturing and trade.
The group’s refinery, often described as a flagship project in Nigeria’s industrial landscape has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, and Dangote has indicated output expansion is planned over the next three years as the company pushes to scale operations further. Industry analysts say a move into steel would place Dangote Group in a sector central to housing, roads, bridges, heavy industry and equipment manufacturing, while investments in power and ports would directly confront two long-running bottlenecks that raise production costs and weaken competitiveness in Nigeria and across West Africa.
Dangote also referenced India’s Tata Group as a model for diversified industrial expansion, pointing to the role large, multi-sector manufacturers can play in transforming emerging economies through scale, supply-chain depth and local value retention.
Job creation, he said, remains a core driver. With Nigeria projected to need tens of millions of additional jobs by 2030, Dangote argued that big industrial projects provide one of the clearest paths to absorbing a fast-growing workforce. He said the refinery currently employs about 30,000 workers, with about 80% Nigerians, and that expansion into new sectors could raise total employment across the group to around 65,000.
He also disclosed plans to list shares in the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange, a move intended to widen local participation in the asset.
Despite the ambition, Dangote acknowledged constraints that could shape timelines and costs, including infrastructure gaps and crude supply/logistics challenges in the oil value chain. Still, he said the group will continue investing in projects that reduce import dependence and keep more economic value within Africa.
“Nobody dared to do it, so we did it,” he said.
