The fortunes of many African countries will soon change, courtesy of a $16 billion investment leading to the creation of about180,000 jobs in Nigeria and other African countries in the next four years by Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group. The business mogul disclosed this at the ongoing World Economic Forum, WEF, in Abuja. “We are investing a total of 16 billion dollars (N2.6 trillion) in the next four years to create a lot of businesses in refineries, petrochemical and to make Nigeria self-sufficient in fertilizer.

Dangote made a clarion call to African investors to look inwards by investing in Africa to encourage foreign investors to follow suit. He said Nigeria in particular is blessed with a huge population and that the government has put in place positive policies, which he described as an advantage. According to him, Foreign Direct Investment, FDI, is attracted by local confidence in the economy. For instance, Dangote himself has invested $4 billion in the last two years in the cement industry with another $2.3 billion in sugar refinery and rice production.

A key attraction to investors in Africa, he said, is a guarantee of 30 per cent return on investment, probably the highest in the world. He urged African investors to invest their money on the continent rather than saving it abroad. “The biggest challenge we are facing today is that some of us here in Africa will rather keep the money abroad than invest in Africa, but, by doing that, you are not creating confidence. You have to invest your money as an African to create confidence for foreign investors to bring in their money,” Dangote said.