Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote is looking far beyond cement bags, petroleum refineries, and kitchen staples as he sets his sights on West Africa’s lucrative chocolate supply chain. Africa’s richest man has entered direct talks with Ghanaian officials to process 500,000 metric tons of cocoa locally, signaling an aggressive new frontier for his sprawling industrial empire.

Ghanaian Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson revealed the high-level negotiations during a recent interview, noting that the billionaire personally initiated the outreach. According to Forson, Dangote contacted both the finance ministry and President John Dramani Mahama to pitch turning the West African nation into a regional hub for domestic cocoa processing.

Reshaping West Africa’s cocoa trade

For decades, Ghana has exported the vast majority of its raw cocoa beans to European and North American grinders, forfeiting billions of dollars in value-added chocolate revenue. Securing Dangote’s industrial muscle could rapidly accelerate Accra’s ambitious national target of processing more than half of its annual cocoa harvest on home soil by 2028.

“A major businessperson operating in the subregion has reached out to me to sign a contract for 500,000 metric tons of cocoa value addition here in Ghana,” Forson told reporters during the broadcast. “I think it would not hurt if I mentioned Dangote has reached out to use Ghana as a hub to process cocoa locally.”

Forson emphasized that the Lagos-based mogul is eager to deploy capital on the ground, having bypassed intermediaries to speak directly with top leadership in Accra. Still, the finance chief cautioned that negotiations remain active, noting that commercial terms are still being hammered out and no binding contract has been signed yet.

A $60 billion industrial push

The proposed cocoa venture arrives just over a week after Dangote hiked his continental industrialization pledge by 20 percent to $60 billion through the end of the decade. Fresh off the success of his mega-refinery IPO, Dangote is hunting for scale across vital African supply chains, setting an audacious target of generating $100 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

If finalized, a half-million-ton grinding operation would instantly establish Dangote as a dominant force in global agricultural commodities. For Ghana, landing a heavyweight industrial backer offers a vital lifeline to capture higher export margins, stabilize foreign exchange inflows, and insulate its economy from volatile raw bean markets.