AFC Backs Dangote’s $7 Billion Fertiliser Expansion

Dangote Fertiliser Expansion Wins AFC Backing

Africa’s drive toward agricultural self-sufficiency received a major boost this week after the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) committed $600 million to support a $7 billion expansion of Dangote Fertiliser, one of the continent’s largest industrial projects aimed at strengthening food security. The financing will help fund plans to significantly increase fertiliser production in Nigeria while advancing the development of a new manufacturing facility in Ethiopia.

The investment comes at a time when many African countries continue to grapple with rising food costs, supply chain disruptions and heavy reliance on imported agricultural inputs. By expanding local fertiliser production, policymakers and industry leaders hope to improve crop yields, reduce import dependence and strengthen the resilience of the continent’s agricultural sector.

The AFC facility deepens a long-standing partnership between the development finance institution and the Dangote Group, whose fertiliser business has become a cornerstone of Africa’s industrialisation ambitions. The broader expansion programme is expected to triple production capacity in Nigeria while establishing a major manufacturing presence in Ethiopia, a country seeking to reduce its dependence on imported fertiliser and support its large agricultural economy.

Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Industries Limited, said the expansion would strengthen food security, increase agricultural productivity and reinforce Africa’s industrial base. The project forms part of his wider vision of making the continent self-sufficient in fertiliser production, reducing the billions of dollars spent annually on imports and positioning Africa as a global supplier of agricultural inputs.

The Ethiopian project has grown substantially in scale over the past year, with planned investment rising to more than $4 billion. Once completed, the facility is expected to produce millions of tonnes of fertiliser annually, helping to meet demand across East Africa and creating opportunities for regional exports.

For AFC, the transaction reflects its broader strategy of financing large-scale infrastructure and industrial projects that can accelerate economic transformation across Africa. For Dangote Group, it represents another step in building what could become one of the world’s largest fertiliser production platforms, a development that many analysts see as critical to improving food security for a rapidly growing population.