Aliko Dangote Risks All Assets for $3.7B Refinery Loan

Aliko Dangote disclosed that he put all his assets up as collateral and provided a personal guarantee to secure an initial $3.7 billion loan for financing the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and fertilizer projects. In an interview on Arise News, he identified this move as the most significant risk of his nearly five-decade entrepreneurial career.

Dangote stated that financing these projects required pledging everything he had built at that time. He noted that the eventual cost of the refinery would reach approximately $20 billion, making it one of Africa's largest private industrial investments.

Dangote expressed concern that many African entrepreneurs are deterred from making substantial industrial investments due to policy uncertainty. He remarked that not everyone is willing to take risks like he does, stating, “I fight every day, morning, day and night,” indicating his commitment to overcoming challenges in business.