Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote eyes Egypt investments

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday to discuss possible investments by his Dangote Group in Egypt’s energy, fertilizer and cement industries.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Alamein Africa Business Forum in Egypt’s northern coastal city of El Alamein, Daily News Egypt reported. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also attended.

Dangote asked for Egyptian government support to help his group invest in the country. El-Sisi welcomed the prospect of the Dangote Group entering the Egyptian market and said the government was fully prepared to provide the necessary facilities, according to presidential spokesman Mohamed El-Shennawy.

Neither side disclosed the size of any planned investment, the specific projects under discussion or a timetable.

A familiar country for Dangote

El-Sisi praised Dangote’s role in African industrialization and pointed to the group’s expansion across the continent in cement, fertilizer, energy and food. He also highlighted Dangote’s personal ties to Egypt. The Nigerian billionaire studied business at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and el-Sisi described that link as an example of cooperation between African peoples.

The Egyptian president said the country’s modern infrastructure and economic base made it well placed to serve as a regional hub for industry and energy. He reaffirmed Cairo’s commitment to working with Africa’s private sector on the continent’s development goals.

The three sectors on the table are the core of Dangote’s empire. Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement maker, with operations in 10 African countries. The group also runs one of the world’s largest urea fertilizer plants in Nigeria and the 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery in Lagos, the largest of its kind in the world.

An Egyptian investment would mark the group’s first major move into North Africa. Egypt has its own large cement and fertilizer industries and a growing natural gas sector, which would bring Dangote into markets where established local and international producers already operate.

A busy week

The Egypt talks cap one of the busiest weeks of Dangote’s career. On Wednesday, he and Kenyan President William Ruto broke ground on a $16 billion refinery in Lamu, Kenya, which he plans to complete within 40 months. Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia are weighing stakes in that project.

In Nigeria, the initial public offering of his Lagos refinery, the largest share sale in African history, closes on Oct. 13. Dangote has also said he will bring forward the listing of his fertilizer business to 2027, and has pledged to invest $50 billion across Africa.

His push into new markets has not always gone smoothly. His group abandoned an earlier plan to build a cement plant in Kenya, a failure Dangote has blamed on demands for bribes, and the Lamu refinery now faces land disputes and environmental objections.

Egypt’s government, by contrast, has made a public show of wanting his money. With the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister all at the table, the meeting signaled that Cairo sees the Dangote Group as a serious potential investor in its industrial plans.