By a Correspondent
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote is moving to acquire ships for his industrial group after difficulties securing vessels to transport cement from Nigeria to neighbouring West African markets exposed persistent weaknesses in the region’s trade and logistics infrastructure.
Dangote Industries plans to secure its own vessels to move cement and other products from Nigeria to markets across West and Central Africa, according to Sada Ladan-Baki, head of international trade export at Dangote Cement.
“We are moving forward towards getting our own ships in order to do this business,” Ladan-Baki said on Tuesday at a seminar on non-oil exports.
The decision follows a particularly striking logistics challenge: Dangote was unable to secure a vessel to transport a consignment of just 1,000 metric tonnes of cement from Nigeria to Ghana.
The shortage of suitable shipping capacity is forcing exporters to rely heavily on road transportation, which can add significant costs as goods cross multiple borders.
Ladan-Baki said Nigerian cement shipped by road to Ghana faces taxes in transit countries such as Benin and Togo, while exports destined for Ivory Coast face additional charges.
These costs can erode the competitiveness of Nigerian products in regional markets, making it harder for manufacturers to take advantage of growing demand across Africa.
Shipping gap threatens regional trade
Dangote’s planned investment highlights a broader challenge facing African manufacturers: the continent’s growing production capacity is not always matched by efficient transport infrastructure.
The group has expanded its manufacturing operations across Africa and has been increasing exports from Nigeria. Dangote Cement reported a 71.6% year-on-year increase in Nigerian cement and clinker export volumes to 549,600 tonnes in the first quarter of 2026, while 10 clinker shipments were completed during the period.
The company has also invested heavily in road distribution, with thousands of trucks supporting deliveries to markets across the region. However, road corridors can expose exporters to border delays, taxes and other costs.
The maritime option offers a way to bypass some of those bottlenecks while giving Dangote greater control over an increasingly important part of its supply chain.
The move also comes as the Dangote Group expands its wider maritime footprint. Its businesses already operate port and terminal infrastructure in Nigeria, including facilities supporting its manufacturing and energy operations.
A wider African logistics problem
Dangote’s difficulties securing a vessel for a relatively small shipment underline the challenges facing efforts to increase intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Although neighbouring West African countries are geographically close, inadequate shipping connections, fragmented transport networks and border-related costs can make moving goods within Africa more expensive than importing them from outside the continent.
Dangote himself has previously highlighted the cost of intra-African shipping, arguing that transporting goods between nearby African ports can sometimes cost more than shipping products from Europe to Africa.
The proposed vessel acquisitions could therefore serve a dual purpose for Dangote: reducing logistics costs for its own businesses while providing greater certainty for its regional export strategy.
Pressure on Nigeria to strengthen shipping capacity
The company’s decision is also likely to renew calls for Nigeria to strengthen domestic shipping capacity.
Nigeria has long sought to develop a stronger maritime industry, but much of the country’s international freight movement remains dependent on foreign-owned vessels.
Industry stakeholders have called for greater use of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, which was established to help Nigerian operators acquire vessels and develop domestic maritime capacity.
Dangote’s investment could potentially become another example of large African industrial companies taking logistics into their own hands when public and private transport infrastructure fails to keep pace with manufacturing growth.
The development comes as Dangote Cement continues to expand its production and export network. The company said its group production capacity reached 55 million tonnes following the ramp-up of its new Côte d’Ivoire plant, with a longer-term strategy to expand capacity further across Africa.