Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, has called on Africa to stop sending its capital abroad and invest more in its own industrial future, as African business leaders and global investors gathered in New York for Unstoppable Africa 2026, organised by the United Nations.
Dangote’s remarks came as the story of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery lit up one of the world’s most iconic locations, Times Square in New York, with a display marking the company’s global ambitions.
In a recent post on X, the company noted that this was “a moment that reflects the scale of our ambition and our continued commitment to building world-class African enterprises. Made in Nigeria. Built for the world.”
According to a press release by Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), Dangote, speaking at the two-day forum (September 20-21), said Africa could not build industrial strength comparable to Asia’s while its own money continues to flow into foreign banks and markets. He called for greater confidence in the continent and highlighted the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as critical to creating the scale required for major industrial projects.
“We must believe in our continent,” Dangote said, urging businesses to stay focused despite the challenges involved in building major organisations in Africa. “Once you start, it gets easier. But the more you don’t do anything, it becomes difficult.”
The forum brought together more than 3,000 African and global business leaders and heads of state, a turnout that underscored growing global interest in Africa’s economic opportunities and the appetite for stronger commercial partnerships with the continent.
Dangote’s call for local investment came as the forum placed industrialisation, investment and local value creation at the centre of discussions about Africa’s economic future, with the Dangote Refinery cited as a leading example of an African industrial project built around domestic investment and production.
The discussions also examined the role of stronger domestic financial markets, structural reforms and wider African markets in attracting private investment. Zeine Zeidane, Director of the African Department at the International Monetary Fund, highlighted the importance of these factors, alongside AfCFTA, in attracting investment to the continent.
GABI noted that this year’s edition, themed ‘Unstoppable Africa 2026: Powering Business, Scaling Economies, Shaping the Future’, brought together Heads of state, CEOs, investors, and innovators to discuss Africa’s potential and build the infrastructure that keeps value on the continent.
Regarded as Africa’s largest single-train refinery, the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery plans to double capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029, at an estimated cost of about $14.3 billion. The expansion is being supported by the refinery’s recently launched IPO, which is offering 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 each to raise about ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion) and reportedly values the refinery at approximately $47.6 billion.
