Aliko Dangote says his group has bought a 25 per cent stake in a petroleum products pipeline network in Kenya. The deal is part of a push to build out fuel distribution across Africa.
Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, made the disclosure at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London. He spoke in a conversation with David Pilling, the paper’s Africa Editor.
“Yesterday, with the support from the President of Kenya, we bought 25 per cent of the pipeline network,” he said.
Plans for Other Countries
Dangote said the group is also working on fuel distribution projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Namibia. Asked about depots and pipelines, he said, “We are very aggressive with that.”
In Ethiopia, the group is building a corridor from Djibouti to Addis Ababa. It will include tank farms for storing and moving fuel. The Cameroon project is nearing finalisation.
Namibia is the planned gateway to Southern Africa. Dangote said the route from the Lagos refinery is about four days by sea. Fuel would then move on to markets such as Botswana and South Africa. He also outlined a proposed corridor through Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Second Refinery in Kenya
The group also plans another refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with a capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day.
Dangote said East Africa’s mining and industrial activity, rising energy demand and fuel supply problems drove the decision. The refinery would buy crude from several markets. It would not rely only on Uganda or Kenya.
He said the group chose Lamu after technical reviews of several sites. Deep water, marine facilities and enough water were the key factors.
The decision took four months, he added. He alleged that vested commercial interests tried to block the project through legal action shortly before its public unveiling.
Call to Protect African Industry
Dangote urged African governments to shield local industries from unfair foreign competition. He asked why emerging industries on the continent should face unrestricted imports when major economies protect their own manufacturers.
Imports that displace local production, he warned, amount to “exporting our jobs out of the continent, importing poverty into the continent.”
$50bn Investment Plan
The group has set aside about $50bn for investments between 2026 and 2030. Dangote said the money will expand its operations and encourage other African entrepreneurs and investors to join the continent’s industrial push.
“The legacy we are trying to set up is how do we industrialise our continent?” he said.
He named unreliable electricity as a major barrier, especially in mining and mineral processing. Poor power often stops countries from adding value to resources before export. About 650 million Africans have no electricity, he said. Fixing that would open the way for manufacturing and jobs.
Dangote said Africa has the land, minerals and young population to become a major industrial force.
