The richest man in Africa just opened the continent’s biggest fertilizer plant. He says people are ‘begging’ him to sell crop nutrients as sanctions against Russia disrupt supply.
- Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, opened the continent’s largest fertilizer plant Tuesday.
- The Nigeria plant’s opening came as sanctions against Russia disrupted fertilizer supplies.
- Dangote said demand was robust, with customers “begging” for supplies.
On Tuesday, Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote, opened in Nigeria the continent’s largest fertilizer plant. Demand is already knocking at the door.
“People are begging us to sell,” Dangote told CNN on Tuesday.
Sitting on 500 hectares (1,235 acres) of land on the outskirts of Lagos, the $2.5 billion fertilizer plant has an initial annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of urea fertilizer, according to information on the Dangote Group’s website.
The opening of the Dangote Fertiliser Plant came amid a supply crunch in crop fertilizers due to sanctions against Russia, which accounted for almost one-fifth of fertilizer exports in 2021, according to Trade Data Monitor and Bloomberg’s Green Markets. Russia is also a top exporter in key fertilizer ingredients such as urea, ammonia, and potash, according to the trade outlet Argus Media.
The supply strain has sent fertilizer prices soaring, with Bloomberg’s Green Markets North America Fertilizer Price Index surging to record highs. This, in turn, is expected to feed into already soaring food prices.
“We are lucky to have this plant,” Dangote told CNN. “It is coming at the right time with the Ukraine-Russia conflict as both Ukraine and Russia control substantial amounts of agricultural inputs.”
Dangote’s fertilizer plant is already shipping to the US, Brazil, and India, CNN reported, citing the billionaire.
Dangote, 64, is the 80th-richest person, with a net worth of $20 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Dangote Group, which he founded, is the second-largest employer in Nigeria after the government, the country’s Vanguard News outlet reported recently, citing the Nigerian president.
The Dangote Fertiliser Plant is expected to create 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, Vanguard News reported, citing a government official.
Amid the war in Ukraine, resource-rich African economies are tipped to benefit from sweeping sanctions against Russia, the third-largest oil producer.
“As the European Union and the United States impose sanctions to deny Russia access to European oil and gas markets, oil-producing African countries could seize on the opportunity,” Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, the director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a recent note. Oil companies may also expand prospecting operations on the continent, he added.
Aliko Dangote
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Aliko Dangote
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 Dangote at the World Economic Forum 2011
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| Born | 10 April 1957
Kano, Nigeria
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| Education | Government College, Birnin Kudu |
| Alma mater | Al-Azhar University |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | Founder and CEO, Dangote Group |
| Children | 4[1] |
| Relatives | Sani Dangote (brother) |
Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian business magnate. He is the chairman and CEO of Dangote Group, an industrial conglomerate and the wealthiest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$14.1 billion as of January 2022.
Aliko Dangote, GCON
President & Chief Executive
Aliko Dangote is the founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, the largest conglomerate in West Africa. The Group currently has a presence in 17 African countries and is a market leader in cement on the continent. One of the Group’s subsidiaries, Dangote Cement Plc, is the largest listed company in West Africa and the first Nigerian company to join the Forbes Global 2000 Companies list.
The Group has diversified into other sectors of the Nigerian economy including agriculture and is currently constructing the largest petroleum refinery, petrochemical plant and fertilizer complex in Africa.
