President/Chief Govt of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, held a collection of high-level conferences with international {financial} leaders on the side-lines of the continued Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) and World {Bank} Spring Conferences in Washington, D.C., as a part of efforts to deepen funding flows and strengthen partnerships in Nigeria’s vitality and industrial sectors.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, said on Thursday that entrenched overseas pursuits had continued to undermine Africa’s industrial progress. He urged stronger regional integration and larger home funding to unlock the continent’s potential.
Dangote Industries Restricted stated it can showcase its Imaginative and prescient 2030, which focuses on driving innovation and Africa’s industrialisation, on the Nasarawa commerce truthful.
On the ongoing Spring Conferences, Dangote delivered the keynote deal with on the launch of World {Bank} Group’s flagship international initiative, Water Ahead. It’s a programme geared toward repositioning water methods from primary social utilities into catalysts for industrialisation, job creation, and large-scale {economic} development throughout rising and creating economies.
Dangote underscored the important position of personal sector funding and infrastructure in unlocking the {economic} worth of water.
The occasion drew a distinguished viewers, together with heads of presidency, Secretary-Normal of the United Nations, leaders of European growth establishments, and multilateral growth companions.
Others included ministers of finance and {economic} planning from over 100 nations, central {bank} governors, international regulators, enterprise executives, and donor companies.
The viewers on the Water Ahead launch mirrored the dimensions and urgency of the initiative.
In separate engagements, Dangote met with President of the World {Bank} Group, Ajay Banga; Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva; and President/Chairman of Export-Import {Bank} of the USA, John Jovanovic.
In response to a press release by Dangote Group, discussions on the session targeted on personal sector-led development, macroeconomic reforms, and unlocking financing for large-scale infrastructure, commerce growth, and industrial growth throughout Nigeria and Africa.
The engagements got here at a time of renewed momentum in Nigeria’s vitality sector.
The nation turned a web exporter of petrol in March 2026, for the primary time in a long time, because the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals drove a shift from import dependence to native production.
Knowledge from Kpler reveals Nigeria exported about 44,000 barrels per day of petrol in the course of the month, barely exceeding imports and leading to a web surplus of roughly 3,000 barrels per day.
The milestone, the assertion stated, aligned with Dangote Group’s newly unveiled long-term development technique, “Imaginative and prescient 2030: Supercharging Dangote Group for Lengthy Time period Success,” a two-phase growth programme spanning 2025–2028 and 2028–2030.
Below the plan, the group goals to scale and optimise its current operations whereas increasing capability throughout key sectors. This contains rising the capability of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million bpd, in addition to quadrupling fertiliser production from three million tonnes every year to 12 million tonnes every year, a transfer anticipated to place the corporate because the world’s largest producer of urea.
The technique additionally outlines growth throughout cement, rice, and broader meals production, alongside new investments in infrastructure, akin to ports and pipelines, gasoline, mining, information centres, and energy, recognized as important to Africa’s industrial transformation and digital resilience.
In the meantime, Dangote believed entrenched overseas pursuits had continued to undermine Africa’s industrial progress. He referred to as for stronger regional integration and larger home funding to unlock the continent’s potential.
Dangote stated whereas the promise of the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) remained vital, its success hinged on the performance of regional markets throughout the continent.
He spoke at an “Investing in Africa Discussion board,” held on the side-lines of the continued IMF/World {Bank} Spring Conferences in Washington.
He stated, “The African free commerce Bargain will work, however it may possibly solely work when the regional markets work.
“The regional markets should work first as a result of all of the dots level to the regional markets and they don’t seem to be working.
“You need to additionally keep in mind that there are a whole lot of worldwide pursuits, and I’m sorry to say, they don’t wish to see Africa develop.
“We haven’t actually had any refinery in Africa for donkey years, even those that they began in different nations, they haven’t been capable of as a result of there are such a lot of pursuits not permitting that to occur.”
Dangote confused that whereas overseas funding remained important, it was in the end pushed by threat notion, one which African traders themselves should first deal with.
He defined, “Foreigners will make investments. However foreigners are additionally very good individuals. Any time you discuss threat, they wish to take a look at it 10 occasions. So how can we de-risk?
“The one approach is that we Africans should lead by investing in Africa and present that, sure, that threat is a perceived threat and never an actual threat. That’s as a result of if I’m not investing in Africa, there isn’t any approach I can persuade anyone outdoors the continent to come back and make investments. So, I have to now present that this threat is passive.
“After all, there may be threat in China, Asia, in every single place. However you need to know how one can mitigate this threat.”
Dangote added, “For us in Africa, what I maintain advising is, sure, when it comes to money, there is perhaps some individuals who have more money than me, however I counsel you, don’t maintain that cash in a overseas {bank}, convey it again dwelling, make investments, the place is nice.
“We’ve got this downside of at all times searching for overseas traders. International traders won’t ever come as a result of the overseas investor is smarter than us, in order that they received’t come. They will solely come once they see that we’re dedicated, we’re critical, and we’re investing our personal cash.
“Once you make investments your personal cash, then they are going to be a part of you. So, when you begin, different individuals will are available in.”
Highlighting alternatives in worth addition, Dangote cited Zambia’s copper exports for instance of missed industrial potential.
He said, “By way of enterprise, a spot like Zambia, they’re busy exporting copper. We wish to course of that copper earlier than it’s exported. So, we wish to simply lead in some key important areas, the place now different Africans will look and say this factor is simple, and everyone will soar in, even when they don’t soar in, the opposite foreigners will now are available in and be impressed.”
On his flagship refinery challenge, Dangote disclosed plans to considerably broaden capability, reinforcing his ambition to place Africa as a serious participant in international refining.
He stated, “However going ahead on the refinery, let me begin on the refinery. We’re taking the refinery to 1.4 million barrels per day. And that may make us the biggest refinery on the planet.”
Again dwelling, Dangote Industries Restricted promised to showcase its Imaginative and prescient 2030, an initiative to drive innovation and Africa’s industrialisation at an impending commerce truthful in Nasarawa State.
Dangote Group is the key sponsor of the Nasarawa Commerce Truthful and Exhibition (NASTFE), with the theme, “Unlocking Industrial Synergy: Deepening the Worth Chain and Driving Inclusive Progress in Nasarawa State.”
An announcement from the corporate’s spokesman, Anthony Chiejina, stated different Strategic Enterprise Models of the corporate could be collaborating on the annual occasion within the state capital, Lafia.
Chiejina said that merchandise to be featured on the truthful would come with these from the Group’s Strategic Enterprise Models, akin to Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, Dangote Salt and seasonings, Dangote SinoTruk, Dangote Packaging, and Dangote Fertiliser.
The assertion quoted Regional Director/Senior Adviser to Dangote Group President, Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, as saying that Nasarawa State was key to the Group’s general funding in Africa.
Wali-Abdurrahman said, “It’s dwelling to Dangote’s Nasarawa Sugar Firm Restricted (NSCL). The sugar challenge, when accomplished, shall be one of many largest sugar investments in Africa.”
Wali-Abdurrahman said that the commerce truthful offered a invaluable platform for the corporate to have interaction with key stakeholders and Nigerians all for exploring enterprise alternatives with the organisation.
She said {that a} devoted Assist Desk will deal with inquiries, enabling the corporate to successfully interact contributors on the Dangote Group’s Strategic Enterprise Models.
Chatting with newsmen in Lafia, Chairman and council members of Nigeria Affiliation of Small-Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Nasarawa State Chapter, Nidan Sambo Manasseh, stated the theme for this yr’s commerce truthful aptly aligned with Dangote Group’s imaginative and prescient.
Manasseh said, “We align strongly with the imaginative and prescient of Aliko Dangote, whose management continues to form Nigeria’s {economic} future. His concentrate on industrialisation, native production, and worth creation evokes our efforts to attach MSMEs to structured worth chains.
“By this partnership, we’re constructing a bridge between grassroots companies and enormous industries, driving inclusive development.”
Talking on Dangote Group’s Imaginative and prescient 2030, Manasseh stated, “Our technique is to align native enterprise growth with large-scale industrial methods.”
Eromosele Abiodun and Nume Ekeghe , Peter Uzoho and Ibrahim Oyewale
Times Nigeria