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Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has expressed interest in investing in data centers in India, recognizing the immense growth potential in digital infrastructure in the world’s most populous nation.
Speaking in an interview with Indian news magazine Business Today, Dangote expressed interest in investing in India through partnerships with India firms.
“We are looking at opportunities of what we can do in India. We cannot come and invest in India by ourselves, but we can easily invest in India if we have a natural partner. We have been dealing with some of them and we have been very willing to do that as part of diversification of our businesses,” Dangote, Founder and President of the Dangote Group said.
The sectors the collaborations would happen include data centers and mining, according to Dangote.
While specific Indian partners were not immediately named for the data center ventures, the move builds on the established relationship between the two regions (Africa and India), which saw bilateral trade exceed $100 billion in 2024-2025.
The partnership for industrial expansion is already concrete, primarily through the engagement with Engineers India Limited (EIL).
Dangote and EIL have signed an MoU to double the capacity of the Lagos Refinery from 650,000 barrels per day to 1.4 million barrels per day, positioning it as the world’s largest single-location refinery.
EIL is also the consultant for the major expansion of the Dangote Fertilizer Complex in Lekki, which will increase urea production capacity from 3 million metric tonnes to 8 million metric tonnes annually.
Why Data Centres
The move into data centers aligns with a global trend of large industrial conglomerates diversifying into the digital economy, providing critical infrastructure to support cloud computing, AI, and e-commerce.
Data center investments particularly in a high-growth market like India, offers a powerful economic hedge against the volatility inherent in traditional commodity-driven sectors like cement, sugar, and oil refining.
Ambani’s Post-Oil Diversification Playbook
The strategy of moving from oil and petrochemicals to digital infrastructure and retail is one perfected by Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
The Dangote Group’s planned move into data centers mirrors Ambani’s initial step: using capital from legacy industrial businesses to acquire a stake in the critical infrastructure of the digital future.
His playbook is considered the global model for industrial conglomerates seeking to future-proof their empires against peak fossil fuel demand.
Ambani did not just enter the telecom market; he built an entirely new digital ecosystem from the ground up, utilizing a massive infrastructure-first investment approach.
RIL invested over $35 billion to build a 4G/5G fiber optic network and related digital assets (including data centers).
This control over infrastructure gave them a significant cost advantage.
The Dangote Group plans to be a $100 billion revenue firm by the year 2030.
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