Africa's richest man is making headlines once again. Two years after opening a massive oil refinery in Lagos, Nigerian entrepreneur Aliko Dangote, who leads the Dangote Group, has announced another major project in Ethiopia. On August 28, he revealed plans to build a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Gode, a rural area in the country's southeast.

This $2.5 billion (€2.1 billion) investment – with a shareholder agreement granting 60% to the Dangote Group and 40% to Ethiopia – would rank among the largest in the country's history, the company said in a statement. With a projected annual production capacity of 3 million tons in three years' time, the urea plant would rank among the world's five largest, according to the statement, in which the billionaire reaffirmed his ambition to "industrialize Africa."

The announcement is significant for Ethiopia, a Horn of Africa nation often praised for its potential. The country has a population of 132 million, and its economic growth has ranged between 5% and 10% since 2006, according to the World Bank. However, it continues to face huge challenges in development and poverty reduction. On its high plateaus, agriculture employs 60% of the population and accounts for more than 30% of gross domestic product. But local farmers struggle with limited access to fertilizers, which are imported at steep prices in a landlocked country that is constantly short of foreign currency.

You have 67.98% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.