Business Reporter
Tanzania has sent a high-powered ministerial delegation to Nigeria in a renewed push to attract billions of dollars in investment from the Dangote Group, as East African economies intensify competition to secure major industrial projects capable of transforming regional manufacturing and infrastructure.
The four-day mission to Lagos is being led by Tanzania’s Minister for Planning and Investment, Professor Kitila Mkumbo, who is holding strategic talks with Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote on expanding the conglomerate’s footprint in Tanzania. The delegation includes senior government officials tasked with identifying investment opportunities aligned with the country’s Vision 2050 development agenda.
The visit follows Dangote’s recent discussions with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on deepening the group’s investments in the East African nation, underscoring Dar es Salaam’s determination to position itself as a preferred destination for large-scale African industrial capital.
According to the Tanzanian government, the discussions are focused on strategic sectors including transport infrastructure, energy, fertiliser production, mining, manufacturing and logistics—industries viewed as critical to accelerating economic growth and regional trade.
Prof Mkumbo said the government’s engagement with the Dangote Group reflects Tanzania’s commitment to attracting transformational private investment.
“This engagement is part of our broader strategy to attract strategic investors who can support Tanzania’s industrialisation agenda and contribute to the implementation of Vision 2050,” he said.
Dangote, whose business empire spans cement, fertiliser, sugar and petroleum refining, has expressed growing interest in expanding across East Africa as governments seek private-sector partners for large infrastructure and industrial projects.
Earlier this year, Dangote indicated he was prepared to spearhead the construction of a regional oil refinery in East Africa if governments reached a common agreement.
“My commitment today here is that if we agree with the three or four governments here about the refinery, we will lead and we’ll make sure that refinery is built within the next four or five years,” Dangote said at an infrastructure conference in Nairobi in April.
The proposed refinery, which could be modelled on the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos, is seen as a potential game-changer for East Africa, which currently imports most of its refined petroleum products.
Tanzania’s renewed courtship of the Nigerian billionaire also comes amid regional competition for his investments. Dangote has previously said he was considering Kenya as a possible location for a multi-billion-dollar refinery because of the advantages offered by the Port of Mombasa, although Tanzania continues to pursue investment opportunities across a broader range of sectors.
Analysts say securing additional Dangote investments would strengthen Tanzania’s position as one of East Africa’s leading industrial hubs while boosting intra-African investment flows at a time when governments are increasingly looking to African capital to drive economic transformation.
The Dangote Group already has investments in several African countries and has outlined ambitious plans to expand its industrial operations across the continent, particularly in cement, fertiliser, infrastructure and energy.
