…Says 600 million Africans still without electricity
Grace Adeleke
Africa’s richest man and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in the continent’s power sector, saying reliable electricity is critical to Africa’s industrialisation and economic transformation.
Dangote disclosed the plan in an interview with Al Jazeera, where he said his group could redirect funds from other areas of its business, including steel, to prioritise investments in electricity generation and related power infrastructure.
He said the planned investment would form part of a broader transformation expected across Africa within the next three to four years.
“In the next three to four years, there will be a major transformation in Africa. That’s why we’re looking at power,” Dangote said.
Explaining the scale of the planned investment, the business mogul said, “We want to invest over $10 billion alone in power.”
Dangote’s announcement comes against the backdrop of Africa’s persistent electricity crisis, with millions of people still lacking access to reliable electricity.
He said more than 600 million Africans remain without access to electricity, describing the situation as unacceptable for a continent seeking sustained economic growth.
“It is something we Africans should not allow—over 600 million of our people to remain in darkness,” he said.
According to Dangote, the continent’s inability to provide adequate and dependable electricity remains a major obstacle to industrial expansion, job creation and improved living standards.
He argued that electricity should not be treated merely as a social service but as a foundation for economic development.
The billionaire also linked the delivery of reliable electricity to political accountability, arguing that governments that provide dependable power would have a major achievement to point to when seeking public support.
“When you deliver power, you don’t need to go for campaign,” he said.
Dangote stressed that without a major improvement in electricity supply, Africa would struggle to achieve the level of economic growth required to transform the lives of its rapidly growing population.
“We will never, ever create growth without power. Power is growth,” he declared.
The proposed investment would, if implemented as announced, make the Dangote Group a major private-sector player in Africa’s electricity sector and potentially increase private participation in addressing the continent’s long-standing power deficit.
However, details of the proposed $10 billion-plus investment, including the countries to be covered, specific projects, financing structure, generation capacity and implementation timeline, were not disclosed in the interview.
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