The President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has called on African entrepreneurs, business leaders, and high-net-worth individuals to channel their investments into the continent’s development.

According to a statement from his media team, Dangote made the call while hosting participants of the Global CEO Africa Programme from Lagos Business School and Strathmore Business School, Nairobi, following a tour of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

He stressed that with the right investments, Africa has the capacity to grow and compete on a global scale.

He stated that Africa’s progress hinges on bold and transformative projects capable of tackling the continent’s persistent challenges.

Pointing to the successful completion of the world’s largest single-train refinery—the Dangote Petroleum Refinery—as evidence that ambitious goals are achievable, he affirmed that similar feats can be replicated across various sectors to spur economic growth.

Dangote also recalled the early scepticism that trailed the refinery project, emphasizing that despite significant hurdles, his group stayed resolute in its commitment to realizing the vision.

“There will always be challenges. In fact, life without challenges isn’t exciting. You just hope for the kind of challenges you can overcome—not the ones that overwhelm you,” he stated.

He noted that completing the refinery has boosted the group’s confidence, paving the way for the pursuit of even more ambitious ventures.

“Now that we’ve built this refinery, we believe we can do anything. We aim to make our fertiliser company the largest in the world—and we’ve set ourselves a 40-month timeline,” he noted.

Dangote underscored Africa’s abundance of human and natural resources, emphasizing that business leaders are uniquely positioned to harness these assets to generate employment for the continent’s expanding population.

He stressed that development should not be the sole responsibility of governments, urging the private sector to have confidence in national leadership and prioritize local investments over capital flight.

“We, as Africans, must stop taking our money abroad. We should invest it here to build our countries and the continent. As for me, I don’t take my money out of Africa. If we don’t show confidence in our own economies and leadership, foreign investors certainly won’t. After all, we know our leaders better than anyone else. That money being taken out of the continent should be left here, where it can benefit everyone,” he averred.