Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote’s promise of an East African oil refinery headlined nearly $50 billion in investment commitments announced at the inaugural Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi.
Dangote’s project is backed by the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, according to Kenya’s President William Ruto, who framed the “$16 billion to $20 billion” refinery as a matter of geopolitical necessity given the backdrop of fuel price spikes caused by the Iran war.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who co-hosted the two-day summit with Ruto, meanwhile announced $27 billion in projects by major French and African companies across energy, artificial intelligence, agriculture, and logistics, part of a broader push to reframe France’s Africa ties around industrial partnership and private capital rather than aid and security.
