Dangote Group is set to venture into steel manufacturing with the ultimate objective of making Nigeria the preeminent steel producer in West Africa.
President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the disclosure during his speech at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAN) and AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum in The Bahamas.
“We want to make sure every single piece of steel that we use will come from Nigeria,” he said.
Dangote also urged African nations to prioritise the promotion of domestic investors, highlighting the crucial role they play in attracting foreign investment. He emphasized the importance of creating a conducive environment for local investors to thrive, citing the Dangote Group’s successful self-sufficiency in power generation as a case in point.
The businessman stressed that the Dangote Group currently produces about 1,500 megawatts of power for self-consumption, without going to the national grid, which would have impacted it negatively.
Dangote also underscored the critical role played by financial institutions such as African Finance Corporation (AFC) and AfreximBank in the industrialisation of the African continent.
According to him, without these institutions, the continent would struggle to address its unique challenges and issues, thereby hampering the continent’s progress towards industrialisation.