By Abubakar Yunusa
Africa’s industrialisation drive will remain elusive without reliable electricity, long-term financing and policies that protect local manufacturers from unfair foreign competition, President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has warned.
Dangote said about 650 million Africans lacked access to electricity, describing the deficit as a major obstacle to manufacturing, mineral processing and job creation across the continent.
The industrialist spoke at the 2026 Financial Times Africa Summit in London during a conversation with the newspaper’s Africa Editor, David Pilling.
He argued that although Africa was richly endowed with natural resources and a youthful population, weak institutions, inadequate infrastructure and limited access to industrial financing had prevented the continent from realising its economic potential.
Dangote said, “I think the number one thing that the continent has to concentrate on doing is having very strong financial institutions, their own financial institutions, and also to have very strong agricultural policy, and also industrial policy.”
He identified electricity as the most urgent requirement for Africa’s industrial transformation.
“For Africa, what we need the most today is actually power,” he said.
Dangote explained that unreliable electricity supply had forced several African countries to export raw materials instead of processing them locally, thereby losing the jobs, revenue and other economic benefits associated with manufacturing.
He said mining companies often cited inadequate power supply as a major reason for their inability to establish processing plants close to extraction sites.
According to him, improving electricity supply would attract investment, boost local manufacturing, create employment and enable African economies to retain more value from their natural resources.
The businessman also highlighted the difficulties of financing large-scale industrial projects in Africa, citing the development of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
He disclosed that the group had to finance the refinery from its own balance sheet because securing conventional project financing for such a major investment was extremely difficult.
Dangote said prolonged negotiations with financiers could delay projects, increase costs and expose investors to changing economic conditions.
He added that the refinery project was further affected by severe currency depreciation and the high cost of supporting infrastructure.
According to him, the exchange rate moved from about N136 to the dollar to as high as N1,800 during the refinery’s development, while approximately 90 per cent of the group’s revenue was denominated in naira.
Against this backdrop, Dangote said the group had outlined a $50bn investment programme for 2026 to 2030, aimed at expanding its operations and demonstrating the capacity of African businesses to execute large-scale industrial projects.
“The legacy we are trying to set up is how do we industrialise our continent?” he asked.
He said the proposed investments were intended not only to expand the conglomerate but also to encourage other African investors to commit resources to industrial development.
Dangote maintained that building a stronger industrial base would create jobs, support other businesses and reduce Africa’s dependence on imported manufactured goods.
He also called on African governments to adopt policies that would enable local manufacturers to compete against established foreign producers.
He warned that allowing cheap imported products to undermine domestic industries could discourage investment in local factories and weaken the continent’s productive capacity.
However, Dangote distinguished industrial protection from restrictions on trade among African countries, advocating a regional approach that would allow African economies to trade more freely while protecting their industries against unfair external competition.
He said the African Continental Free Trade Area should support stronger regional manufacturing rather than become an obstacle to industrial development.
The industrialist questioned why widespread poverty persisted across Africa despite its extensive agricultural land, mineral resources and large population.
“Why should we remain poor?” he asked.
Dangote expressed optimism that African governments, entrepreneurs and investors were becoming more determined to develop the continent’s productive capacity.
He maintained that stronger institutions, reliable electricity, access to long-term financing and consistent industrial policies would be critical to turning Africa’s resources into sustainable economic growth.
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