According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, Tanzania’s wealthiest businessman, Mohammed Dewji, has expressed readiness to invest $100 million in Aliko Dangote’s proposed $17 billion East Africa refinery, highlighting growing investor confidence in the project.
In an interview, Dewji stated that while he prefers Tanzania as the host country, he will happily participate even if Dangote builds the refinery in neighboring Kenya.
Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man, recently disclosed plans to build another massive refinery on the continent’s east coast to duplicate the success of his 700,000 barrels-per-day facility in Lagos.
Despite initially considering Tanzania as a potential host nation, Dangote stated that he chose Kenya’s seaside town of Lamu for “commercial and technical” reasons however, he did not provide further details.
“I would lean more toward Tanzania than Kenya,” he said, adding that he had not ruled out investing if the refinery is eventually developed in East Africa’s largest economy. I will definitely reach out to him, and we can chat about it,” he added.
Additionally, a senior Dangote executive confirmed that numerous potential investors have approached the company to participate in the project.
Once complete, the projected $17 billion facility will become Africa’s second-largest refinery, trailing only the 700,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.
Meanwhile, Kenyan President William Ruto previously expressed optimism that construction on the refinery will begin this year.
Potential Economic Benefits
Following the successful commencement of operations at the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, Africa’s largest single-train refinery, the billionaire industrialist has expressed interest in replicating the model in other African markets, including Tanzania, to meet rising fuel demand.
If realised, the project is expected to deliver significant economic benefits for both countries. For Tanzania, the refinery could reduce fuel import costs, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, boost local industries and position the country as a petroleum refining hub for East and Central Africa.
For Nigeria, the expansion would further strengthen Dangote’s footprint across the continent, increase earnings from engineering expertise, technology transfer and related services, while reinforcing Nigeria’s reputation as a major exporter of industrial capacity rather than just crude oil.
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Backstory…
In April 2026, Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote unveiled plans to build another 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Nigerian refinery in East Africa with support from governments in the region.Africans & Diaspora
Dangote revealed this at the 2026 Africa We Build Summit — an infrastructure financing conference — held in Nairobi.
He said, “I can give commitment to the two presidents that were here, if they support the refinery, we will build the identical one that we have in Nigeria.”
He also said the plant will integrate petrochemical production to boost manufacturing and account for about 10% of the United States’ total refining capacity.
