At a Glance
- Dangote appoints MTN CEO Ralph Mupita to fertilizer board ahead of IPO.
- Dangote Fertiliser targets global urea leadership, expanding the $2.5 billion Lagos complex, Ethiopia plant.
- Africa’s agriculture sector may exceed $1 trillion by 2030, boosting fertilizer demand.
Dangote Industries, West Africa’s largest diversified conglomerate, has appointed MTN Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita to the board of its fertilizer unit, signaling a strategic move ahead of an anticipated initial public offering.
Dangote Fertiliser Ltd. Managing Director Vishwajit Sinha confirmed Mupita’s appointment in an email response to questions. The hire comes as the company prepares to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange this year.
Mupita, who led MTN’s Nigerian unit through its 2019 listing—a company now valued at $8.6 billion—brings experience in navigating large-scale public offerings. MTN Nigeria remains the bourse’s second-largest firm after BUA Foods Ltd.
Africa’s Agriculture market could hit $1 trillion
Africa’s population, is the fastest-growing worldwide, driving rising food demand, urbanization, and expanding regional trade.
The African Development Bank projects the continent’s agriculture sector could exceed $1 trillion by 2030, offering a sizable opportunity for fertilizer producers despite challenges with finance, infrastructure, and market access for smallholder farmers.
Dangote Fertiliser produces roughly 3 million tons of granulated urea annually. The company aims to become the world’s largest urea producer by 2028, expanding its $2.5 billion Lagos complex and launching a new facility in Ethiopia this year.
Mupita, a seasoned executive
Mupita, a seasoned business executive has headed Africa’s largest wireless carrier for over five years. He joined MTN in 2017 as chief financial officer and became Group CEO in September 2020. Before that, he was CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, overseeing operations in 19 countries and managing roughly R1 trillion ($63 billion) in assets. Mupita trained as an engineer before moving into financial services and telecommunications, giving him a diverse perspective across emerging markets.
Dangote leads Africa’s largest conglomerate
Dangote Group also plans to list its refinery unit this year, a move designed to raise capital and broaden access for institutional investors.
Aliko Dangote, founder and CEO of the Dangote Group, has built West Africa’s largest conglomerate, with operations in 17 countries across sectors including cement, sugar, salt, packaging, energy, ports, petrochemicals, and fertilizers.
Dangote Fertiliser is a $2.5 billion facility on 500 hectares in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, making it Africa’s largest granulated urea plant.
With a net worth of $30.5 billion, Dangote, continues to lead industrial development initiatives across the continent.
