Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, has announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in Africa’s power sector over the next three to four years, describing electricity as critical to the continent’s economic transformation.
Dangote disclosed the plan in an interview with Al Jazeera uploaded on Monday, saying the investment would support what he expects to be a major transformation across Africa. The announcement did not name specific countries, project timelines, or implementing partners.
“I’m telling you, in the next three, four years, there will be a major transformation in Africa. And that’s why we’re looking at power, for example,” he said. The interview was published Monday, September 21.
The billionaire said the investment could involve redirecting funds from businesses the Dangote Group may decide not to pursue, including steel, with the group considering cancelling one or two planned businesses to redirect the funds into power. The decision reflects a strategic shift in how the conglomerate is prioritizing its capital across the continent.
“We are going to invest in power. We want to; actually, there are one or two businesses that we might cancel, like steel, and we will put in the money. We want to invest over $10 billion alone in power,” he said.
Dangote attributed some of the reluctance to invest in Africa to frequent changes in government policies and inadequate electricity supply. “The problem really is, it takes two to tango. I think in the past, there have been a lot of flip-flops in government policies. Government policies were changing every day, and then, the lack of electricity was also there,” he said.
He identified Africa’s electricity deficit as one of the continent’s major development challenges, noting that more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity. That figure represents roughly half the continent’s current population, making the energy gap one of the largest of any region in the world.
“It is something that we Africans should not really allow. Over 600 million of our people to remain in darkness,” Dangote said.
He maintained that private-sector investment remained necessary to create jobs and drive industrialization across the continent. “For some of us that really mean business, we are here, and we know that yes, without our intervention, Africa will never be able to create jobs,” he said.
According to him, expanding access to reliable electricity would have implications beyond households, supporting industrial activity, investment, and broader economic growth. Nigeria, where Dangote Group is headquartered, has struggled with chronic power supply shortfalls for decades, with frequent outages forcing businesses and households to rely on expensive diesel generators.
“So power is key. We will never, ever create growth without power,” he said.
Dangote also linked electricity supply to political leadership, arguing that delivering reliable power could have a significant impact on how citizens assess their governments. That framing places electricity directly inside the conversation about governance accountability in Nigeria and across Africa ahead of several elections on the continent.
The billionaire linked the delivery of reliable electricity to political accountability, arguing that governments that provide dependable power would have a major achievement to point to when seeking public support. “When you deliver power, you don’t need to go for a campaign,” he said.
The Dangote Group already generates up to 1,540MW of electricity for its manufacturing subsidiaries as it seeks to reduce reliance on Nigeria’s power grid, and the Dangote Refinery operates with its own 435MW power plant.
Separately, Dangote plans to begin construction of a $17 billion refinery in Kenya, with work expected to start by the end of the month. No financing structure or regulatory approvals for the proposed $10 billion power investment were disclosed in the Al Jazeera interview.
