Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has made a direct commitment to Presidents William Ruto and Yoweri Museveni to build an oil refinery in East Africa modelled on his landmark Lagos facility. He delivered the pledge in person during the Africa We Build Summit 2026 held in Nairobi on April 23 in front of top business leaders and heads of state from across the continent.
Dangote was clear that the project comes with one firm condition. He needs genuine and sustained support from both the Kenyan and Ugandan governments for the refinery to become a reality. Without that political backing he made it understood that the plan would not move forward.
The proposed East African refinery would be a replica of the Dangote Oil Refinery in Lagos which sits in the Ibeju-Lekki Free Zone. That facility was commissioned in May 2023 and became fully operational in February 2026 processing over 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It stands as one of the most significant industrial achievements on the African continent in recent decades.
If built in East Africa the refinery would produce diesel petrol and jet fuel locally. This would directly reduce the region’s dependence on costly fuel imports that currently drive up household expenses and increase the operational costs of businesses across Kenya Uganda and their neighbours.
Dangote also revealed that his Nigerian refinery is still being expanded and could eventually process up to 1.4 million barrels per day. He said that would make it the largest refinery in the world and would give Africa roughly 10 percent of the entire refining capacity of the United States. He made no attempt to hide his ambition on that front.
Beyond fuel the Dangote Group has outlined a USD40 billion investment plan across Africa through to 2030 covering petrochemicals fertilizers and industrial raw materials. Part of the vision includes achieving full African fertilizer self-sufficiency by 2028 with 20 blending plants planned and 12 million tonnes of urea in the pipeline.
Dangote also challenged Africa’s economic model directly saying the continent continues to lose enormous value by exporting raw materials instead of finished products. He linked this pattern to brain drain arguing that Africa ships out both its resources and its people.
The announcement aligns with President Ruto’s earlier declaration at the same summit that Kenya intends to invest in Uganda’s Hoima oil refinery project estimated at USD4 billion signalling a strong regional push toward energy independence.