Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in Africa’s power sector over the next three to four years, saying reliable electricity is essential to the continent’s economic transformation.


Dangote disclosed the plan in an interview with Al Jazeera, where he said his group was considering cancelling one or two business ventures, including steel, in order to redirect funds towards power generation.


> “In the next, three, four years, there will be a major transformation in Africa. And that’s why we’re looking at power, for example,” Dangote said.




Explaining the scale of the proposed investment, he said the group intends to commit more than $10 billion to the power sector alone, with the objective of helping address Africa’s electricity deficit.


Dangote also expressed concern over the number of Africans without access to electricity, saying more than 600 million people on the continent remain without power.


> “It is something that we Africans should not really allow. Over 600 million of our people to remain in darkness,” he said.




According to the businessman, electricity is fundamental to economic growth and industrial development, particularly because businesses and manufacturers require reliable and affordable power to operate efficiently.


> “So power is key. We will never, ever create growth without power,” Dangote said.




His latest comments come against the backdrop of his earlier decision to halt plans to invest in Nigeria’s steel industry. In 2024, Dangote said his board decided against entering the steel business partly because of concerns that the investment could trigger accusations of monopoly.


The proposed power investment would represent a major shift in focus for the conglomerate and could place electricity infrastructure at the centre of Dangote Group’s next phase of expansion across Africa.