HARARE – Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, was in Harare on Wednesday for exploratory talks with the Zimbabwean government on investments worth more than US$1 billion, saying he was encouraged by economic reforms under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Dangote, whose fortune is estimated at about US$30 billion, met Mnangagwa and signed a framework investment agreement with the government.
He previously visited Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2018, expressing interest in cement production and energy projects, but nothing materialised from those trips.
“There are quite a lot of changes,” Dangote told reporters. “Now the government is solid. There is a lot of transparency. Also, when you look at what His Excellency (President Mnangagwa) has done in terms of turning the economy around, that really gave us the confidence that this is the right time for us to come and invest.
“We have signed an agreement between Zimbabwe and Dangote Group to do various investments in various sectors, some of which are in cement, some in power generation, some in a pipeline to bring petroleum products.
“We are in the business of producing oil. We have the largest refinery in the world and a couple of other investments which we are looking at. It is a broad investment, really, in hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even up to a billion. But really, it will be over a billion because of the pipeline.”
Presidential spokesman George Charamba said the discussions were exploratory and no specific project deals were concluded on Wednesday.
“What was signed was a global agreement which may pave the way to investments of about US$1 billion; no agreement on any specific deal was signed today,” Charamba said.
He described Dangote’s engagement as “inspiring,” highlighting his strong belief in African-led industrialisation and continental self-reliance.
“He was particularly insistent that African capital is key to the development of the continent,” Charamba said. “He debunked the myth of smallness, citing Singapore as an example, and argued that a country is as big as its trade hinterland. Small economies like Zimbabwe can be cheaper sites of production if they think beyond national markets.”
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery, is currently constructing storage tanks in Namibia to hold at least 1.6 million barrels of petrol and diesel for distribution across southern Africa.
The tanks are expected to supply fuel to Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with plans also under consideration to serve southern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Senziwani Sikhosana, the CEO of Bard Santner, which is structuring the investments, and journalist-cum-business adviser Josephine Mahachi accompanied Dangote to his meeting with Mnangagwa.
Dangote left Zimbabwe for Zambia after his meetings in Harare.
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