Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that he used all his assets as collateral and gave a personal guarantee to secure the initial $3.7 billion loan for his refinery and fertiliser projects.
Dangote made the disclosure during an interview with Arise News, describing the investment as the biggest risk he had taken in nearly 50 years of doing business.
Asked about the biggest risk of his entrepreneurial career, Dangote pointed to the refinery and fertiliser projects.
“The biggest decision was the risk of the refinery and fertiliser,” he said.
He explained that financing the projects required him to commit virtually everything he had built at the time.
“We gave all our assets as collateral,” he said.
“And apart from that, I gave a personal guarantee.”
According to Dangote, the initial financing was based on a $3.7 billion loan, at a time when the eventual cost and completion of the projects remained uncertain.
The refinery eventually cost about $20 billion to build, making it one of Africa’s largest privately funded industrial projects.
The 700,000 barrel per day Dangote refinery began producing petroleum products in 2024 and has since expanded its output to include petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and other products.
The facility has become central to Nigeria’s efforts to reduce its dependence on imported petroleum products.
Dangote is also planning a further $14.3 billion expansion that would increase the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2029.
The refinery has also launched a public offer, allowing retail and institutional investors to acquire shares in a company that has largely remained privately owned.
Dangote described the move as a new phase for the business after years of bearing much of the financial risk involved in developing the project.
He called it a “People’s IPO” and said his long term goal is to have at least 10 million shareholders across Africa.
Dangote said his willingness to take major financial risks is driven by his belief that Africa cannot achieve industrialisation without entrepreneurs prepared to commit substantial capital to large scale projects.
