President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has called on African entrepreneurs, business leaders, and high-net-worth individuals to channel their resources into transformative projects that can drive the continent’s development.
Dangote made the call while hosting participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme—an initiative of Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School, Nairobi—who visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals complex in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
According to a statement by the Dangote Group, the billionaire industrialist stressed that Africa possesses the human and natural resources required to thrive globally, but needs visionary investments to unlock its full potential.
“What Africa needs are bold and transformative projects capable of addressing long-standing challenges,” Dangote said, citing the completion of the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery—the world’s largest single-train refinery—as proof that ambitious goals are achievable on the continent.
He reflected on the doubts and difficulties that surrounded the refinery project, noting that perseverance and belief in the vision helped his group overcome significant obstacles. “There will always be challenges. Life without challenges isn’t exciting,” he remarked.
Buoyed by the refinery’s success, Dangote disclosed that his company now aims to make its fertiliser arm the largest in the world within 40 months.
He urged African business leaders to stop exporting capital and instead invest locally to create jobs and build resilient economies. “We must stop taking our money abroad. We should invest it here to build our countries. If we don’t have confidence in our own economies, how can we expect foreign investors to?” he asked.
Dangote also lamented the continued economic dependence of many African countries despite their political independence. He pointed to Dubai and Singapore—once on par with several African nations in the 1970s—as examples of what deliberate policy and private-sector collaboration can achieve.
Highlighting Africa’s growing youth population and the urgent need for job creation, he called for robust investments in manufacturing, agriculture, and the banking sector, while stressing the importance of improved interconnectivity across African nations. “It’s cheaper to import goods from Spain than to transport cement clinker from Nigeria to Ghana,” he observed.
Acknowledging policy inconsistency and infrastructure deficits across the continent, Dangote urged the visiting executives not to be discouraged. “If you think small, you don’t grow. If you think big, you grow. It’s better to try and fail than never to try at all,” he said.
The delegation of 24 CEOs from six African countries was led by Patrick Akinwuntan, Academic Director of the Global CEO Africa Programme at Lagos Business School, who said the programme was designed to groom future African leaders with a continental outlook.
“Our aim is to nurture leaders who see Africa as a single market. The Dangote refinery is a testament that vision must go beyond sight,” Akinwuntan said. He commended Dangote for his courage, competence, and integrity in delivering a project of such scale.
Executive Dean of Strathmore Business School, Dr. Caesar Mwangi, added that the visit would inspire participants to launch similarly ambitious projects in their home countries. “If Dangote can achieve this, so can others across the continent,” he said.
Dean of Lagos Business School, Prof. Olayinka David-West, said the visit aligns with the school’s mission of developing leaders equipped to tackle Africa’s complex socio-economic issues. She praised Dangote for mobilising capital and vision to address critical national and continental challenges.
“This refinery is more than an industrial complex—it’s a tool for implementing frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Its ripple effect spans multiple sectors,” she stated.
Other programme participants included the CEO of Nigeria’s Financial Reporting Council, Dr. Rabiu Olowo; global banking leader, Segun Aina; Managing Director of Family Bank, Nairobi, Nancy Njau; Ecobank Executive Director for Cameroon and the CEMAC/CESA region, Emmanuel Wakili; and former CFA Society Nigeria President, Ibukun Oyedeji.
The participants hailed the visit as a catalyst for bold thinking and renewed commitment to Africa’s transformation.
