DANGOTE CALLS ON AFRICAN CEOs TO LEAD A NEW ERA OF ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
Billionaire Industrialist Urges African Business Leaders to Take Ownership of the Continent’s Economic Future
Africa
African business leaders
Africa economy
Investment
Economy independence.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has delivered a hard-hitting message to the continent’s top executives: either invest in Africa or risk watching it fall behind. Addressing participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme in Lagos, Dangote made a compelling case for African-led solutions to African problems, urging business leaders to abandon dependency on foreign investment and redirect their capital toward homegrown, visionary projects.
Speaking at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals complex, now the world’s largest single-train refining facility, Dangote used the $19 billion project as a rallying point for what he described as a “new era of African ambition.”
“Africa is blessed with abundant natural resources and a wealth of talent,” Dangote said. “But for too long, we have relied on external capital while underinvesting in our future. It’s time we turned that around.”
The billionaire industrialist’s remarks come amid growing frustration with the slow pace of intra-African trade and investment. He decried the reality that many African nations find it cheaper to import goods from Europe than to trade among themselves, a situation he labeled as “unacceptable and unsustainable.”
Dangote specifically highlighted the paradox of cement transportation between Nigeria and Ghana, which costs more than shipments from Spain, pointing to deep-rooted inefficiencies in infrastructure, policy frameworks, and regional cooperation.
“Africa may be politically independent, but many countries remain economically dependent,” he stated. “Only Africans can change that narrative.”
The Global CEO Africa Programme, an initiative led by Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School in Nairobi, brings together C-suite executives from across the continent for immersive learning in leadership, strategy, and innovation. This year’s participants, representing six African countries, toured the landmark refinery site in Ibeju-Lekki as part of their programme.
Professor Olayinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School, hailed the refinery as a defining moment in Africa’s industrial future. “This facility is a powerful symbol of what regional cooperation and economic frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can enable,” she said.
Dr Caesar Mwangi, Executive Dean of Strathmore Business School, echoed that sentiment, noting that the visit had sparked a renewed sense of possibility. “This is African excellence in motion. This visit proves that transformative development can be driven by Africans, for Africans.”
Throughout his address, Dangote emphasized that the continent’s wealth must be reinvested locally. He warned against the harmful trend of exporting capital to foreign markets while neglecting Africa’s infrastructure and industries. “The money we send abroad only enriches others. It’s time we put that money to work here,” he said.
He also shared insights from his journey in building the refinery, including the intense skepticism and doubt he faced. “They said it couldn’t be done. But here we are. What was once deemed impossible is now the new benchmark.”
Dangote revealed that his next target is to grow his fertiliser company into the largest in the world within 40 months. “We’re not done. The work continues, and we must keep dreaming bigger,” he declared.
Other speakers at the event included Patrick Akinwuntan, Academic Director of the Global CEO Africa Programme, who underscored the importance of developing a Pan-African business mindset. “We’re training leaders who understand that Africa is not 54 isolated markets, it’s one vast, interconnected opportunity,” he said.
Dr Rabiu Olowo, CEO of Nigeria’s Financial Reporting Council and a programme participant, said the visit had deeply impacted the cohort. “It reminded us that business leadership in Africa must go beyond profits; we have to uplift our economies.”
Prominent executives in attendance included Segun Aina, a renowned banking leader; Nancy Njau, Managing Director of Family Bank, Kenya; Emmanuel Wakili, CFO of Ecobank’s CEMAC operations; and Ibukun Oyedeji, former President of CFA Society Nigeria.
In closing, Dangote reiterated a message he’s long championed: that Africa’s transformation lies in African hands. Thinking small will only hold us back. We must think big and act even bigger.
