Dangote Industries Limited President and Chief Executive Officer, Aliko Dangote, has said his fertiliser business will become the world’s largest and is scheduled for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2028.
Dangote disclosed this during an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, powered by Bloomberg, where he discussed the expansion of his fertiliser business and the group’s plans to increase its production capacity across Africa.
He also disclosed that Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange after completing an expansion that will double its crude-processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by the first quarter of 2029.
Dangote said the expansion of his fertiliser business was driven partly by the disruption to global fertiliser supplies following the Russia-Ukraine war and Africa’s dependence on imported fertiliser.
He recalled that, at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the African Union sent its then chairman, Senegalese President Macky Sall, to seek assistance because African countries were facing fertiliser shortages from their traditional suppliers.
He said Dangote is responding by significantly increasing urea production while developing additional sources of key fertiliser inputs, including potash and phosphate.
Dangote said the expansion would enable his business to supply more than 40% of Africa’s fertiliser demand while ensuring that the product is available throughout the year rather than only during planting seasons.
He also said the African Development Bank has provided a $6 billion credit line that can be used for petroleum products or fertiliser.
Asked when the fertiliser business would be listed on the stock exchange, Dangote said the company would pursue an IPO in 2028 and become the world’s largest fertiliser company.
Dangote Fertilizer operates a 3 million-ton-per-year granulated urea and ammonia plant in Lagos, described as Africa’s largest granulated urea facility. The company has expanded its international market reach, with a significant share of its output exported to markets including the United States.
The expansion comes as fertiliser supply disruptions continue to highlight the importance of producers with the capacity to increase output and serve international markets.
Dangote is also expanding its fertiliser production footprint beyond Nigeria.
The plant is expected to take about 40 months to complete and will have an annual production capacity of 3 million tons of fertiliser. It will also be connected by pipeline to the Calub and Hilala natural gas fields in southeastern Ethiopia.
The planned Ethiopian facility forms part of Dangote’s broader expansion of fertiliser production across Africa as the group seeks to increase supply and reduce the continent’s reliance on imported fertiliser.
