HARARE, Zimbabwe — Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has signed a landmark US$1 billion investment deal with Zimbabwe, including plans for a fertiliser plant and a 2,000km-long pipeline stretching from Namibia’s Walvis Bay, through Botswana, to Bulawayo.
Dangote met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare on Wednesday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, marking one of the most significant private-sector investments in Zimbabwe in years.
Regional Impact
The deal underscores growing investor confidence in Mnangagwa’s economic reform agenda and expands the reach of Dangote’s West African conglomerate into Southern Africa.
“The broader investment is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even more than a billion… But really it will be over a billion because of the pipeline,” Dangote said.
A presidential spokesperson said the project could transform Zimbabwe’s production structure by making fuel imports cheaper.
Beyond the Pipeline
The agreement paves the way for major projects across energy, cement, fertiliser production, and infrastructure development. Dangote is also planning a fuel storage facility in Walvis Bay, aimed at reducing Southern Africa’s dependence on imports from Europe and Asia.