Peter Egwuatu

Africa offers attractive returns on investment as Dangote President, Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has challenged investors to invest in Africa saying that the continent offers tremendous opportunities for investment.

Speaking at an interactive session in London, Dangote said that Africa remains the world’s investment destination despite several challenges especially in the area of infrastructure.

According to a statement made available to Vanguard weekend, Dangote said that though there are challenges associated with investing in Africa, the high rate of returns on investment and profitability serve as adequate compensation to those problems adding that an investor can reap over 30 percent returns.

In his words , “In Africa you can reap about 30 percent in returns on investment. People do not believe you when you tell them this. There are tremendous opportunities in Africa.  The only perception people have is that it is difficult to do business in Africa. But it is not true. There are challenges like lack of adequate power supply which did not deter us from running our business.

There are challenges when doing business in Africa. But profitability in the area compensates for the challenges. We have challenges such as inadequate power supply. We generate our own power. We generate 400 mega watts.”

According to him, investors need to be asking the question; what does Africa have to offer as the opportunities are tremendous in terms of return on investment, abundance of mineral resources and availability of big markets.

He explained that Nigeria being a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), firms producing in Nigeria can export to the vast market in the region easily.

“We have communities like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Africa. It is just like the EU. ECOWAS has a market of over 300 million people. Nigeria has a market of about 150 million people while other 14 member states have roughly 150 million. Nigeria has huge resources, mineral resources and human resources.

If you produce in one of the states, you can export to other ECOWAS countries without paying charges. Nigeria has a population of about 150 million  while other ECOWAS countries have roughly the same population creating a tremendous market in the sub region,” Dangote added.

Dangote noted that contrary to what some people believe, investing in Africa is easy as all the countries have Investment Promotion Councils charged with drafting and formulation of investment guidelines.

According to him, such councils are always eager and willing to provide information on investment opportunities in African countries of interest.
According him, “investment in Africa is easy. Africans welcome people    who want to invest. That is why we are in about 12 African countries.

In African countries, they usually have an investment promotion council. They will give you all the information you need. When we went to Zambia to invest a project of about $400 million, there was a snag. Non Zambians are not allowed to invest 100 percent in mineral resources. I met the president and complained about the law. He asked me to give him chance to meet with the parliament. They later repealed the law. So if there is an impediment, speak to the appropriate authority.”

“So investment in Africa is free from hassles. It does not matter whether you are from the country or not. They welcome people. When we started, we did not plan to invest in other African countries but we found out that it is easy. We are in 12 countries already.”Advising prospective investors he said “Where the law restricts you, you can ask for more. If you did not like what is given, you can ask
for more in terms of incentives.”