Foremost entrepreneur and President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has urged African countries to dismantle all economic barriers hindering free trade among the nations, to achieve sustainable growth and development across the continent.
He also expressed the irrevocable commitment of his pan-African conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), to solving some of the economic challenges faced by the African continent and her people.
To realise this goal, he committed over $20 billion on investments in several key sectors of the African economy, according to a company statement.
Dangote was quoted as saying at the launch of a Special publication “The World Ahead 2023” by The Economist, in Lagos that the investments were meant to turn around Africa’s economic fortunes in the quest for sustained growth through free trade and economic integration.
Dangote, represented by the Group Executive Director/Group Chief Risk Officer, DIL, Dr. Adenike Fajemirokun, noted that the crucial task of building a sustainable future that guarantees equitable growth and prosperity for all, should not be the exclusive role of the public sector alone, but should also involve the private sector.
He listed the investments to include key industries in Energy, Agriculture, and Infrastructure, “to empower farmers, foster backward integration, create thousands of jobs, eliminate our dependence on imported products, and improve our nation’s foreign exchange earnings significantly.
“We are also confronting environmental issues through our investment in alternative fuels, as well as unlocking enormous opportunities in the communities where we have our footprints, while ultimately ensuring that we keep delivering huge value to our shareholders,” he added.
He noted that prevailing multilayered issues ranging from rising energy costs, food insecurity, supply-chain disruptions, access to quality healthcare, cybersecurity, inflation as well as geopolitical tensions like the Russia-Ukraine war, have vastly affected policy execution and the ease of doing business in more vulnerable economies.
We are also confronting environmental issues through our investment in alternative fuels, as well as unlocking enormous opportunities in the communities where we have our footprints, while ultimately ensuring that we keep delivering huge value to our shareholders.
Dangote urged all hands to be on deck especially towards lifting Africa above the various socio-economic challenges including population explosion.
“Nigeria, for instance, is projected to be the world’s third largest population by 2050 surpassing the United States, only behind India and China, so the question of sustained economic growth has become increasingly critical and isn’t one for a single sector to tackle alone.
“To secure the future of our country and our continent we must forge strong public-private partnerships and dismantle regional barriers with vehicles like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).”
Private investments
In his remarks, Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, described the publication as a valuable document for policymakers and strategic planners, adding that its contents reaffirm part of the strategies the Lagos State Government has executed to make Lagos assume its status as the preferred destination of choice for investors.
He said Lagos is Africa’s fastest growing economy and a key policy of the state government is to improve its investment profile by providing an enabling environment, while investing billions of Naira in infrastructure and technology, like the Lekki Deep Seaport that helped to attract 60% of the Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Regional Executive and Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mobolaji Lawal, said the Economist special publication provides an opportunity for knowledge sharing for the government and private sector to explore emerging opportunities in the digital space.
“If we get it right, it will stimulate growth and drive transformation and ensure economic growth,” he said.
