Dangote Group dey look Egypt as next stop for African expansion

Dangote Group dey weigh industrial investments for Egypt, one move wey go stretch di Nigerian conglomerate reach enter North Africa and link di continent two biggest economies more closely.

Di talks come after one Egyptian team, wey di Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid Saleh, lead, tour di Dangote Industries complex for Lagos. Officials from Egypt petroleum ministry and executives from im oil and petrochemical firms travel with am. Dem meet Dangote executives to look for areas where di two sides fit work together, invest jointly and grow capacity.

Di visit fit Dangote Vision 2030 plan, wey aim to spread di group operations across Africa, tighten regional supply chains and build manufacturing wey fit compete globally.

Wetin each side want

Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited, say di meeting show wetin di company don build for Nigeria and open door to cooperation wey fit lift industrial output for both countries.

This demonstrates true African integration.

He say African businesses need to put money into di continent itself to speed up industrial growth and development.

Saleh say im mission na to turn di diplomatic and business contacts di two countries already get into real deals. Egypt bin earlier meet Dangote Group for di Alamein Economic Conference and other investment gatherings wey e host.

He say Cairo want understand wetin Dangote don achieve for refining, petrochemicals, fertiliser and related manufacturing, and to see where Egyptian and Nigerian firms fit join forces.

We are impressed by the scale of operations we have seen here.

Di minister put di combined Nigerian and Egyptian market at about 400 million people. He say Nigeria energy resources and Egypt existing factories give both countries base for deeper work for manufacturing, energy, petrochemicals and fertiliser.

Closer ties, he say, fit pull Nigerian industrialists enter Egypt and give Egyptian companies more room for Nigeria. Di gains go reach beyond trade, he add, into jobs, technology transfer, skills and di small businesses wey dey supply big plants.

Dem ask am whether Egypt go host Dangote refinery, Saleh say di talks cover more than that. Any partnership, he say, suppose create value for both countries and for Africa.

Wetin happen next

No investment figures, timelines or named projects don make public. Di three reports on di visit agree on di main facts.

For di ordinary Nigerian, di immediate effect na nil. Any payoff go come later, and only if di talks turn into factories, jobs and cheaper industrial goods. For now, e be signal say one of Nigeria biggest companies dey look beyond home for im next phase of growth.