The Africa Finance Corporation has committed $600 million to support the expansion of Dangote Group’s fertilizer business in Nigeria and Ethiopia. The financing will go to Greenview Fertilizer Corporation, the holding company responsible for the group’s fertilizer operations, as part of a wider $7 billion expansion program.
The project aims to strengthen fertilizer production across Africa, reduce dependence on imports, and improve food security at a time when the continent faces rapid population growth and supply chain vulnerabilities. By expanding local fertilizer production, the initiative is expected to support agricultural productivity and help farmers access key inputs more reliably.
The AFC-backed expansion will significantly increase Dangote’s urea production capacity. The group’s Nigerian fertilizer complex will expand from 3 million metric tons to 9 million metric tons annually, while a new facility in Ethiopia will add another 3 million metric tons of yearly production capacity.
Once completed, the combined operations will create an integrated fertilizer production platform with 12 million metric tons of annual capacity across West and East Africa. This would position Dangote among the leading global players in the urea fertilizer sector and strengthen Africa’s role in the global fertilizer market.
The project also responds to Africa’s low fertilizer use compared with other major population centers. AFC cited figures showing that Africa’s 1.5 billion people consume about 6 million metric tons of urea annually, far below the levels used in India and China, where consumption reaches nearly 40 million and 50 million metric tons respectively.
Increasing fertilizer availability is expected to help address one of the key barriers to agricultural productivity in Africa. By narrowing the fertilizer-use gap, the project could support higher crop yields, stronger food production systems, and more resilient agricultural value chains across the continent.
The expansion also has major economic significance for Nigeria, which is working to diversify foreign exchange earnings beyond crude oil. According to Aliko Dangote, the increase in production capacity could generate more than $4 billion annually in urea export revenue within the next three years.
These export revenues would strengthen Nigeria’s non-oil economy and improve the country’s foreign exchange position. Since commercial production began in 2022, the Lagos fertilizer plant has supplied the domestic market while exporting to African, European, and other international markets.
Ethiopia is also central to the expansion strategy, with the planned 3 million-metric-ton facility expected to strengthen Dangote’s industrial presence in East Africa. The project will support regional fertilizer supply and contribute to broader efforts to industrialize agricultural value chains.
The transaction continues the partnership between AFC and the Dangote Group. AFC has previously supported major Dangote projects, including the Lagos refinery, where it arranged a $3 billion syndicated loan and provided a $300 million senior loan.
If completed, the fertilizer expansion is expected to boost Africa’s production capacity, support food security, increase export earnings, and strengthen regional industrial development in the agricultural sector.
