Nigerian billionaire, Dangote, sets ambitious goal with $2.5 billion fertilizer plant

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has unveiled plans to expand the $2.5 billion Dangote fertilizer Plant as part of a broader strategy to accelerate industrial transformation across the continent.

The expansion, which will significantly boost production capacity, is aimed at reducing Africa’s heavy reliance on imported fertilizer and improving self-sufficiency in agricultural inputs.

“In the next 40 months, Africa will not import fertilizer from anywhere. We have a very aggressive trajectory right now. We want to put Dangote to be the highest producer of urea, bigger and higher than Qatar – give me 40 months,” Dangote said at the annual Afreximbank meeting in Abuja as per Reuters

Africa currently imports over 6 million metric tons of fertilizer annually, a costly dependence that hampers agricultural productivity and exposes farmers to global supply shocks.

According to a trade report by Afreximbank, the value of Africa’s fertilizer exports in 2021 reached $8.9 billion, more than double the continent’s imports of $3.7 billion—a surplus driven largely by North African producers.

Morocco and Egypt alone accounted for $6.23 billion in fertilizer exports, representing over 70% of Africa’s total and highlighting the region’s growing significance in global supply chains.

Fifteen African countries were net exporters of fertilizer that year, emphasizing the continent’s potential to play a greater role in intra-African trade. However, key markets such as Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo remained heavily reliant on imports.

As at today, Dangote’s plant, already one of the largest in the world, has the capacity to produce up to 3 million metric tons of urea per year.

According to Dangote, roughly 37% of the company’s urea output is shipped to the United States, making the U.S. a key market.

Beyond the U.S., Dangote also exports urea to other key markets such as Brazil, which has historically relied on Russian fertilizer supplies, as well as India and Mexico.

The planned expansion aims to double output, enabling Africa to meet its own needs and potentially become an exporter.