Dangote Signs Deal with Black Rhino on $5billion Energy Project

The Dangote Group has signed a joint venture agreement with the Black Rhino Group to develop a $5 billion (about N1 trillion) energy infrastructure in Africa.

Black Rhino is a subsidiary of the Black Stone Group, the world’s current largest Private Equity and Asset Management Company.

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the announcement Friday, January 29 while delivering the 38th Pre-Convocation Lecture titled: The Role of Entrepreneurship in National Development: The Story of the Dangote Group.

Expressing delight that the Chairman of the Black Rhino Group is the present Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, Dangote announced that the joint venture agreement was already looking into setting up power plants in Kano and Abuja, in Nigeria.

“Elsewhere in the continent we are already exploring opportunities in Togo and Zimbabwe, and most of these plants will be coal-based, as we have developed expertise and capacity through the provision of captive power to all our factories,” he said.

The industrialist said their reliance on captive power was based on their conviction that “it has been a key factor in our success as our cost of power is 4 cents/kWh on average, compared to 15 cents/kWh average for residential users.

He said the Dangote Group would be investing a total of over $19 billion across its various businesses to facilitate consolidating in some of them, growing others and venturing into new fields and enterprises.