Africa's richest man says his $100 billion 2030 revenue target is too modest

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote said his conglomerate will raise its target of $100 billion by 2030, calling the goal too modest, and plans to unveil a larger one in January.

"We realised that our Vision 2030 target was too modest," Dangote said while hosting a group of Nollywood actors, content creators and comedians at his oil refinery in Lekki, on the outskirts of Lagos. "We are working towards unveiling a new vision in January, with a revised target that reflects our ambition to achieve far more than US$100 billion."

He did not say what the new figure would be.

Dangote, Africa's richest person, has made the $100 billion goal the centrepiece of his group's expansion plans, which include a larger refinery, more fertiliser and cement capacity, and new projects across Africa. He told the visitors the group's growth was driven by a determination to build institutions that last and to show that African companies can compete globally.

A message to young entrepreneurs

The delegation toured the refinery before a conversation with Dangote on business and ambition, moderated by veteran actor Richard Mofe-Damijo.

Dangote told the visitors that Africans had waited too long for outsiders to make the continent rich.

"It is not just about money; it is about legacy," he said. "We have often been taken for granted, and in many ways, we have contributed to that by waiting for foreigners to come and make our continent prosperous. That will never happen. We must take responsibility for building Africa's prosperity ourselves."

He pointed to Singapore as an example of a country that grew rich by investing in its own capabilities, and urged entrepreneurs to pursue projects others considered impossible.

He also spoke about his own mistakes. "Before embarking on any venture, you must carefully consider all the issues involved. We have made mistakes too, and I share these experiences so others can learn from them," he said. "One important lesson is never to keep putting good money into a bad investment. Some situations are simply too difficult to turn around, no matter how much you invest."

Dangote praised Nigerian entertainers for building a large international following with little government support, and urged them to turn that reach into businesses that create jobs.

Mofe-Damijo, widely known as RMD, told Dangote his legacy "has already been built." Actor Abdullateef Adedimeji said the scale of the refinery had pushed him to aim higher and called for more collaboration in the film industry. "The more we collaborate, the stronger and more successful we become," he said.

The refinery at the centre

The visit came as Dangote sells shares in the refinery to the public. Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is offering 4.1 billion shares at ₦525 ($0.39) each to raise about ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion), the largest initial public offering in Nigeria's history. The offer closes on Oct. 27 and is open to investors in several other African countries.

The 650,000-barrel-a-day plant, the largest single-train refinery in the world, began processing crude in 2024. Dangote plans to roughly double its capacity to about 1.4 million barrels a day by the end of the decade.

Dangote built his fortune in cement, sugar and flour before moving into fertiliser and oil refining. He owns about 87% of the refinery.