Africa’s richest industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has announced that his conglomerate has acquired a 25 per cent stake in Kenya’s petroleum products pipeline network, as part of an ambitious plan to expand fuel distribution and strengthen its presence across the continent.
Dangote disclosed this during a conversation with the Financial Times Africa Editor, David Pilling, at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom.
The businessman said the acquisition was concluded with the support of Kenyan President William Ruto, describing the investment as part of the group’s aggressive expansion into Africa’s energy distribution market.
“Just let me tell you, yesterday, with the support from the President of Kenya, we bought 25 per cent of the pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” he said.
Beyond Kenya, Dangote said his group was pursuing petroleum distribution infrastructure projects in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Namibia to facilitate the movement of refined petroleum products across African markets.
“We are very aggressive with that,” he said, responding to questions about the group’s plans for pipelines, depots and other distribution facilities.
He explained that the group was developing a distribution corridor connecting Djibouti to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, with tank farms planned to support the storage and transportation of petroleum products.
According to him, a separate project in Cameroon was nearing completion, while Namibia had emerged as a strategic location for expanding into Southern Africa.
Dangote said the geographical proximity of Namibia to his refinery in Lagos would enable the group to establish a viable supply route into the region.
“From our refinery to Namibia is just about four days of steaming,” he said.
He explained that refined petroleum products would be shipped from Nigeria to Namibia before being distributed to other markets, including Botswana and South Africa.
The group also plans to establish a distribution network extending through Zimbabwe and Zambia, creating interconnected supply routes designed to serve multiple African countries.
Plans 700,000-Barrel Refinery in Kenya
The pipeline acquisition comes amid plans by Dangote Industries to establish another refinery in Lamu, Kenya, with a proposed capacity of approximately 700,000 barrels per day.
Dangote said East Africa’s growing industrial and mining sectors, rising energy demand and persistent challenges in accessing diesel and other petroleum products informed the proposed investment.
He explained that the refinery would source crude oil from different markets rather than depend exclusively on supplies from Kenya or Uganda.
According to the industrialist, Lamu was selected after technical assessments of several potential locations, with deep-water access, marine infrastructure and adequate water resources among the key considerations.
He said the investment decision was reached within four months, alleging that vested commercial interests had attempted to frustrate the project through legal proceedings shortly before its planned public unveiling.
Dangote Warns Against Unchecked Imports
Beyond his energy expansion plans, Dangote called on African governments to protect domestic industries from unfair foreign competition, warning that excessive dependence on imported goods could undermine local manufacturing and employment.
He questioned why African countries should expose their emerging industries to unrestricted foreign competition when major economies were increasingly adopting policies to protect their own manufacturers.
Dangote argued that allowing imported products to displace locally manufactured goods would weaken industrial development and deprive African economies of employment opportunities.
“Exporting our jobs out of the continent, importing poverty into the continent,” he said, warning against policies that undermine domestic production.
The industrialist also disclosed that his group had earmarked approximately $50 billion for investments between 2026 and 2030.
He said the investment programme would expand the conglomerate’s operations while encouraging other African entrepreneurs and investors to participate in the continent’s industrial transformation.
“The legacy we are trying to set up is how do we industrialise our continent?” he said.
Power Deficit Threatens Industrial Growth
Dangote identified unreliable electricity supply as one of the major obstacles to Africa’s industrial development, particularly in mining and mineral processing.
He said inadequate electricity had prevented many African countries from processing their mineral resources locally and exporting higher-value products.
According to him, approximately 650 million Africans lack access to electricity, a challenge he said must be addressed to unlock the continent’s manufacturing potential, create jobs and diversify national economies.
Dangote questioned why a continent endowed with vast agricultural land, abundant mineral resources and a youthful population should continue to grapple with widespread poverty.
He maintained that Africa possessed the resources and human potential required to become a major global industrial force if governments and private investors worked together to address infrastructure gaps and strengthen domestic production.
The Kenyan pipeline investment represents another step in Dangote’s broader strategy to develop an integrated African energy network, linking refining capacity with storage, transportation and distribution infrastructure across multiple markets.
