Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, held a series of high-level meetings with top global financial leaders on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., positioning Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors as prime destinations for international investment.
Africa’s wealthiest businessman used the platform to sound the alarm on what he described as deliberate efforts by entrenched foreign interests to stifle Africa’s industrial development. He called for deeper regional integration and a stronger commitment from African investors themselves to unlock the continent’s vast economic potential.
At the Spring Meetings, Dangote delivered the keynote address at the launch of the World Bank Group’s flagship Water Forward initiative, a programme designed to transform water systems from basic social utilities into engines of industrialisation, job creation, and economic growth across emerging economies. The event drew an audience that included heads of government, the United Nations Secretary-General, European development institution leaders, finance ministers from over 100 countries, central bank governors, and senior business executives.
In separate engagements, Dangote met individually with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and Export-Import Bank of the United States President John Jovanovic. Discussions centred on private sector-led growth, macroeconomic reforms, and financing frameworks for large-scale infrastructure and trade expansion across Nigeria and Africa.
These meetings come on the heels of a landmark moment for Nigeria’s energy sector. In March 2026, the country became a net exporter of petrol for the first time in decades, driven by output from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Data from commodities analytics firm Kpler showed Nigeria exported approximately 44,000 barrels per day of petrol during the month, slightly exceeding imports to produce a net surplus of around 3,000 barrels per day.
The development aligns with the group’s newly unveiled Vision 2030 strategy, a two-phase expansion plan spanning 2025 to 2030. Under the plan, Dangote Group aims to nearly double the refinery’s capacity from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels, which would make it the largest refinery in the world. The group also plans to quadruple fertiliser production from three million tonnes annually to 12 million tonnes, a move intended to position the company as the world’s leading producer of urea. Additional expansion targets include cement, rice, food production, ports, pipelines, gas, mining, data centres, and power infrastructure.
Speaking at an Investing in Africa Forum held on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, Dangote addressed the barriers holding back continental progress. He stressed that while the African Continental Free Trade Area holds enormous promise, its success is contingent on the functionality of regional markets, which he said remain largely ineffective.
“There are a lot of international interests, and I’m sorry to say, they do not want to see Africa grow,” Dangote said, pointing to the absence of functional refineries across the continent as evidence of this resistance.
On attracting foreign capital, he was direct: outside investors will only commit when they see African entrepreneurs leading the charge. “Foreigners will invest, but foreigners are also very smart people. Any time you talk about risk, they want to look at it ten times,” he said. “The only way to de-risk Africa is for Africans to invest first and demonstrate that the perceived risk is not a real one.”
He urged wealthy Africans to repatriate capital parked in foreign banks and reinvest it at home, arguing that foreign investors would follow once they saw genuine local commitment. Using Zambia’s copper exports as an example, he highlighted the missed opportunity of exporting raw materials rather than processed goods, and called on African industrialists to lead value-addition efforts that would inspire others, both within the continent and beyond.
On the domestic front, Dangote Industries confirmed it will showcase its Vision 2030 strategy at the upcoming Nasarawa Trade Fair and Exhibition, where the group serves as the major sponsor. The fair, themed around unlocking industrial synergy and driving inclusive growth in Nasarawa State, will feature products and services from several of the group’s strategic business units, including Dangote Cement, Sugar, Salt, SinoTruk, Packaging, and Fertiliser.
The group’s Regional Director and Senior Adviser to the Group President, Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, described Nasarawa State as central to the group’s broader African investment strategy, noting that the Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited, when completed, will rank among the largest sugar investments on the continent.
