The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has included Kenya among a list of more than 10 African countries he considers prime destinations for investment, pointing to the wide range of opportunities available across the continent.
Among the East African nations he highlighted alongside Kenya were Tanzania and Rwanda. Dangote named Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania as promising markets, while describing Rwanda as small but highly promising. He also pointed to Egypt as a strong prospect and noted that Algeria holds potential too, despite being less open to outside investment.
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Dangote further praised Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire for their strong economic performance, citing the recent opening of a Rio Tinto-operated mine in Guinea — a project valued at over $20 billion — as evidence that investors are increasingly recognizing Africa’s business potential and moving to capitalize on it.
Dangote’s remarks come a month after he selected Kenya’s Lamu County as the preferred site for a proposed Sh2.2 trillion oil refinery, a project with the potential to significantly transform East Africa’s petroleum sector.
READ MORE: Why Dangote Is Choosing Mombasa Over Tanzania
The planned refinery is expected to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, making it the largest facility of its kind in East Africa and the second largest on the continent, trailing only Dangote’s existing refinery in Lagos, Nigeria.
A site on Lamu Island has already been earmarked for the project, with preliminary design work, engineering assessments, and soil testing currently underway. Sources familiar with the plan say construction is expected to take approximately five years, with funding drawn from a combination of internal resources, corporate bonds, and proceeds from an initial public offering.
This latest development follows an announcement Dangote made in April, revealing plans to expand his refining operations into East Africa through a facility modeled after his flagship refinery in Nigeria.
