Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, plans to follow in the footsteps of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani by reinvesting profits from his newly completed refinery into another sector. After successfully building Africa’s largest refinery, despite numerous challenges, Dangote now seeks inspiration from Ambani’s approach to business expansion.
Speaking in an interview in New York on Monday, Dangote revealed that he visited Reliance Industries Ltd.’s Jamnagar plant, the world’s largest refining complex, to draw insights for his 650,000-barrel-a-day refinery located outside Lagos, which began production earlier this year.
Ambani, the 12th richest person globally according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, revolutionized India’s telecom industry with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., undercutting competitors to become the country’s largest wireless carrier. His digital venture attracted investments from major tech companies, including Google and Meta, during the pandemic. Ambani has since expanded into non-banking lending, positioning Reliance as India’s largest non-bank lender.
While Dangote has already diversified beyond cement and food, he plans to emulate Ambani’s business model, though he declined to specify which sector he would venture into next. “The pressure was coming actually from different directions, the pressure of people confusing us, disturbing us every day,” Dangote said, reflecting on the obstacles that delayed the refinery’s completion.
Dangote’s refinery project faced numerous setbacks, including bankrupt suppliers and disruptions from the global pandemic. He acknowledged that a high-ranking Saudi minister had warned him that the refinery might be too large to succeed. Nonetheless, Dangote pressed forward, completing the ambitious project, which is expected to operate at full capacity in the next four months.
The plant, which aims to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports, positions the country as one of the few African nations with significant domestic refining capacity. While countries like South Africa have explored building new refineries for over a decade, and Ghana recently announced plans for a 300,000-barrel-a-day petroleum complex, Dangote is skeptical of their success.
“Ghana will never ever do it,” he remarked. “No one else could’ve done this.”
With his refinery complete and operational negotiations underway, Dangote is now eyeing his next move. Like Ambani, he plans to pivot his profits into a new industry, further expanding his business empire across sectors.
