Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, eyes India for data centre investment

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man and president of the Dangote Group, has expressed interest in investing in data centres in India. He is in India to sign agreements for the expansion of his Nigerian petroleum refinery and a major push into fertilisers in Ethiopia.

He is likely to sign a number of major contracts with both Indian and global corporations situated here. Dangote plans to increase the Nigerian oil refinery capacity from 6,50,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day and is considering India as a potential hub for his data centre investments.

In a recent interview with CNBCTV18, Dangote highlighted the potential for growth in Africa and the opportunities for Indian businesses to invest in the continent. He emphasised the need for India to support its businesses in increasing exports to Africa, citing China's significant investments in the region.

“And one of the areas that I believe that will increase and strengthen this partnership is actually the government in terms of support in export credit, which China is doing quite a lot, but India is not really very strong in the export, you know, credit is very difficult, you know, for them,” he said.

“They are not really supporting most of their companies to, you know, offer credit to investment like this in, you know, Africa. So, I hope there will be a change of strategy, and I think this can actually open up more markets, you know, between India and Africa,” Dangote added.

Dangote has also identified key areas for collaboration between India and Africa, including data centres, solar energy, cement, and pharmaceuticals. When Dangote was asked about the top areas of interest for him in India and his recommendation for the Indian government to make it easier for India and Africa to do business together, he expressed interest in investing in data centres in India and highlighted the potential for growth in Africa.

"There are quite a lot of areas. You can talk of solar energy, but even though it's difficult to compete with China when it comes to solar, a lot of, you know, industries like cement industries like this, and that we are doing well, I believe there are quite a lot in pharmaceuticals," Dangote said.

"We can do quite a lot in data centres. So, there are quite a lot of things that we can do between Africa and India. And I think sometimes these trade visits, they do help a lot in terms of opening up the market, in terms of looking at the opportunities, you know, that, you know, that we have in Africa," he added.

When asked for a final recommendation on how India can engage more economically with Africa, the Dangote Group chairman said, “I think one of the areas that we will look at if we're having anything to do with India is to look at data centres. And the other is actually to see how can India Export Bank can support a lot of the Indian companies in terms of selling their goods and services in Africa. Without that kind of support, growth will be very limited.”

Dangote's visit to India is seen as a significant development in strengthening economic ties between India and Africa. His investments in data centres and other sectors are expected to create new opportunities for Indian businesses and contribute to the growth of the Indian economy.

Dangote's visit to India comes at a time when India's exports to Africa have surpassed $51 billion, and total bilateral trade has crossed the $100 billion mark in 2024-2025.