Billionaire Aliko Dangote has described his $23 billion Dangote Refinery as the “biggest risk” of his life, acknowledging the immense challenges he faced in bringing the project to completion.
In an exclusive interview with Forbes on Monday, Dangote admitted that failure was not an option. “It was the biggest risk of my life. If this didn’t work, I was dead,” he said.
Despite the refinery’s record-breaking 650,000 barrels-per-day capacity—making it Africa’s largest—the business mogul recounted struggles with financing, regulatory hurdles, and supplier agreements.
Dangote emphasized his vision of industrializing Africa without overreliance on foreign investment. “We have to build our own nation by ourselves. We have to build our own continent by ourselves,” he stated, adding that Africa has long been a dumping ground for finished goods.
Committed to ensuring the refinery’s success, Dangote remains actively involved in operations, frequently meeting with engineers and managers. He is also spearheading ambitious projects, including a subsea gas pipeline from the Niger Delta to Lagos and the expansion of the refinery’s fertiliser plant.
Looking ahead, he plans to take the refinery public within the next two years. “I’ve been fighting battles all my life, and I have not lost one yet,” he declared.
