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Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is set to invest $1 billion in Zimbabwe, targeting cement production, power generation, and fuel transport infrastructure. The project signals renewed investor confidence in President Mnangagwa’s economic reforms and could transform Zimbabwe into a southern African industrial hub.
The move represents one of the most significant private-sector commitments Zimbabwe has attracted in recent years, reinforcing growing confidence in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s economic reform policies and renewed push to attract foreign direct investment.
The Dangote Group’s renewed engagement is particularly notable, given that earlier efforts to establish similar ventures in 2015 and 2018 were halted due to policy and regulatory uncertainties under the previous administration. With Mnangagwa’s government now prioritizing transparency and investor protection, the landscape has shifted considerably in favor of large-scale industrial investments.
This renewed commitment revives a long-standing vision first announced in 2015, when Dangote Cement proposed building a $400 million plant with an annual capacity of 1.5 million tons. That project never materialized under the late Robert Mugabe’s government, which was often criticized for its restrictive stance toward foreign investors.
Under the current administration, however, Zimbabwe has adopted more open and investor-driven policies, creating the conditions needed for Dangote’s projects to finally move forward. If implemented as planned, the new investment could become one of the defining private-sector developments in Zimbabwe’s post-crisis recovery, strengthening its regional economic influence.
The Dangote Group has operations in 17 African countries and one of its subsidiaries, Dangote Cement, opens new tab, is a leading cement manufacturer on the continent.
