Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person and founder of the Dangote Group, has announced that he has paid $2.4 billion of the $5.5 billion borrowed to build his $19 billion refinery near Lagos.
Speaking at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in The Bahamas, Dangote said, “We borrowed the money based on our own balance sheet… We have actually paid interest and some principal, about $2.4 billion. We’ve done very well.”
Dangote praised Afreximbank and Nigeria’s Access Bank for supporting the project, saying, “Without banks like African Finance Corporation (AFC), AfreximBank and others, it would be difficult to industrialise the African continent.”
He criticized foreign banks for not supporting African growth, saying, “Foreign banks are not interested in helping Africa grow… Some of them clandestinely attempted to push the company into loan default during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Dangote also discussed challenges in receiving crude oil feedstock from International Oil Companies (IOCs), saying, “Those who had access to cool money for decades would not want the opportunity to slip and would always fight back.”
He emphasized the need for Africa to produce what it consumes, saying, “As Africans, please, don’t be deceived, no foreigner can come and make your continent great. It must be the domestic investors.”
Dangote also announced plans to move into steel production, saying, “We want to make sure every single steel that we use will come from Nigeria.”
THISDAY