Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, has announced plans to invest an additional $50 billion across Africa as the conglomerate steps up its push to build large-scale industrial businesses and increase African ownership of strategic enterprises.
Dangote made the disclosure on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya, where he spoke ahead of the groundbreaking of the group’s proposed $16 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Lamu. The facility is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Dangote said Africa must mobilise more of its own capital, build businesses at a scale capable of competing globally and ensure that Africans increasingly own the enterprises driving the continent’s industrialisation.
“We have already invested more than $25 billion, but right now, we’re going ahead to invest an additional $50 billion,” Dangote said at an investor engagement organised by the Nairobi Securities Exchange, according to Blueprint on September 30, 2026.
The planned investment forms part of Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 strategy, which is aimed at expanding its industrial footprint across Africa. The group’s Chief Strategy Officer, Aliyu Suleiman, said on September 25, 2026, that the company planned to spend about $50 billion in capital expenditure between 2026 and 2030, twice the amount invested during the previous five-year period.
The group’s expansion includes investments in refining, petrochemicals, liquefied natural gas, power, cement and other industrial infrastructure. A major project is the proposed Lamu refinery in Kenya, which Dangote said would help Africa process more of its crude locally rather than export raw materials and import finished products.
The Lamu project is also structured to give regional governments an ownership stake. Reuters reported on September 30, 2026, that Dangote was offering East African governments a combined 30% stake in the refinery, with the project expected to create more than 50,000 jobs.
Dangote’s emphasis on African ownership comes as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s public offering is underway in Nigeria. The IPO opened on September 14, 2026, offering 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at ₦5,250. Dangote said at the opening that the primary purpose was to broaden ownership and allow Nigerians and other investors to participate in the wealth created by the refinery.
The new investment programme therefore goes beyond expanding Dangote Group’s businesses. It reflects the conglomerate’s stated strategy of building African-owned industrial companies capable of competing internationally while increasing local participation in the ownership of major productive assets.
