Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote plans 300,000 jobs for Nigerians

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has announced that his multimillion-dollar investment through his sugar business, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR), will create no less than 300,000 jobs in Nigeria, as he continues to strategically invest in his sugar business in accordance with the requirements of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP).

The leading billionaire, who made this statement while speaking at the flag-off ceremony for the 2022–2023 Crushing Season and Outgrower Scheme Awards in Numan, Adamawa State, explained that the new employment opportunities will include both direct and indirect jobs.

“We are making a massive investment in Adamawa State through expansion of our refining capacity; with this investment, DSR will be able to create about three hundred thousand jobs, direct and indirect, with positive multiplier effects on the economy nationwide,” he said.

This statement comes nearly a week after he committed more than $700 million to expand the operation of its sugar business by increasing the refining capacity of one of its plants, DSR Numan, from 3,000 tonnes of cane per day (tcd) to 6,000 tcd, 9,800 tcd, and 15,000 tcd.

The investment will also drive the expansion of the group’s Backward Integration Program (BIP) in accordance with the NSMP, as the leading billionaire plans to put in place the necessary infrastructure for the eventual start of full-scale production.

The move, which aligns with the country’s goal of achieving sugar sufficiency, fits well with the company’s strategic expansion roadmap and is expected to increase revenue and earnings power while also creating shared wealth for stakeholders.

The Dangote Group, a manufacturing conglomerate owned by Aliko Dangote, is poised to cement its position as the second-largest employer of labor in Nigeria, behind only the Nigerian government, thanks to the 300,000 jobs that will be generated by the new investment.

Due to an increase in demand for both fortified and unfortified sugar, DSR, a leading integrated sugar company that is majority owned by Dangote, announced earlier this month that its nine-month 2022 profits increased by double digits.

According to the group’s financial statement, profits at the end of the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year rose by more than 60 percent as revenue increased, from N15.51 billion ($35.4 million) in the corresponding period of 2021 to N24.83 billion ($56.6 million).