The $24 billion Dangote Petrochemicals Complex in Lagos stands as a powerful signal of Africa’s potential to attract global capital and build large, globally competitive industrial platforms. this was the message from Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing president of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), at the recent 2025 Standard Chartered Bank Africa Summit in Lagos.
In the text of his presentation, which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), adesina highlighted the refinery as a case study for the continent’s business viability. now a major supplier of petroleum and petrochemicals to Nigerian, African, and global markets, the project demonstrates that Africa is a profitable destination capable of tilting global capital in its favor.
Adeosun underscored the need for continued support for African corporates to establish similar industrial platforms, enabling the continent to become a dominant player in sectors where it holds a comparative advantage.
He underscored the need for African global corporates to be strongly supported with financing at scale, to establish global industrial platforms that will support Africa to be dominant players in critical areas in which it has comparative advantage.
NAN reports that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is a 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery.
Located in the Lekki Free Zone of Ibeju Lekki Lagos, it is Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.
To buttress Adesina’s position, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Tuesday announced that it signed a 1.35 billion dollar financing facility in favour of the refinery.
The facility, according to the Continental Bank, is part of a larger, approximately 4 billion dollar syndicated financing arrangement for Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate.
Afreximbank said the financing, one of the largest syndicated loans in recent African financial markets, will refinance capital expended on constructing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex.
Adesina also gave example of the 20 billion dollar Liquified Natural Gas project in Mozambique, as another African business entity that attracted global capital for large and globally competitive industrial platforms.
The LNG project, according to him attracted the largest foreign direct investment, when it was structured.
Other large corporates identified by Adesina includes: Goldfield Limited, one of the world’s largest gold mining firms. In South Africa with market capitalisation of 17.46 billion dollar.
Naspers Limited, a South African multinational internet, technology and multimedia holding company with market capitalisation of 14.56 billion dollar.
Others are, Vodacom Group with market capitalisation of 12.47 billion dollar and MTN Group with market capitalisation 10.99 billion dollar.
Adesina also revealed that, with Africa accounting for 30 per cent of all mineral reserves globally, the continent will shape the future of global energy transition.
According to him, with huge shares of critical minerals such as cobalt, platinum, manganese, the continent will shape the future of manufacturing of electric vehicles, mobile phones, computers and defense systems.
Adesina said that the rising and intense geopolitical jostling to access these critical minerals is already shaping global geopolitics in Africa.
