Aliko Dangote urges private investment as delays in Côte d’Ivoire stretch to three weeks, announces plans for Africa’s largest seaport

LAGOS – Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has issued a stark warning about a critical infrastructure gap affecting both West and Central Africa: a severe shortage of ports capable of handling the region’s growing maritime trade.

Speaking at the Mid-Year Session of the Board of Directors of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) in Lagos, the Nigerian billionaire said the lack of adequate port infrastructure is already causing significant delays, with vessels waiting up to three weeks to discharge goods in some locations.

“My own is actually to continue to encourage you to encourage people to come and invest in ports because, really, we are running short of ports, especially in West and Central Africa,” Dangote told regional port authority leaders.

Three-Week Delays in Côte d’Ivoire

The industrialist offered a stark illustration of the crisis, describing firsthand experience with port congestion on the continent.

“In some areas where we go to discharge our goods, especially in Côte d’Ivoire, I think we wait for three weeks,” he said.

The delays, he suggested, are not merely inconvenient but are actively constraining trade and economic growth across a region that relies heavily on maritime commerce for imports and exports.

A Radical Proposal: Governments Should Not Build Ports

In remarks that may challenge conventional thinking about infrastructure development, Dangote argued that governments have no business building ports. Instead, he called for a fundamental shift in approach.

“The government has no business investing in ports,” he stated. “What you need to do is actually to encourage entrepreneurs to invest heavily so that your own revenues will increase. You should be good at collecting revenues, not building ports.”

Dangoe urged port authorities to become enablers of private sector investment rather than direct developers.

“So, you should encourage the private sector to build its ports,” he added.

Lekki: The Deepest Seaport in Africa

Dangote pointed to the Lekki Free Trade Zone as an example of what private investment can achieve, noting that the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has been encouraging his company to build there.

“But I can assure you that the Lekki Free Trade Zone will be the largest, deepest seaport in Africa. Not in West Africa, in Africa,” he said.

The scale of the ambition reflects Dangote’s broader pivot toward logistics as a core business. He revealed that his conglomerate is now treating ports as a strategic priority rather than a peripheral operation.

Expansion to East Africa

Dangote also announced that the Dangote Group is expanding its port ambitions beyond West Africa, with a new project underway in East Africa.

“We just concluded discussions two days ago with the President of Tanzania. We also want to build another port,” he said.

The move signals a continental strategy for the Nigerian billionaire, who aims to position his company as Africa’s largest supplier of logistics going forward.

From Operations to Industry

“Now, we are taking ports as our own business. Before, we were just doing it as part of our operations, but right now, we will be the biggest African supplier of logistics going forward,” Dangote said.

The announcement comes amid growing recognition across the continent that port infrastructure has not kept pace with trade volumes.

West and Central Africa’s ports, many of which were built decades ago, face increasing congestion as regional economies grow and intra-African trade expands under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Whether Dangote’s call for private-sector-led port development will be heeded by regional governments remains to be seen. But his message was unambiguous: the continent cannot afford to wait.

The Ghana Stock Exchange has been ranked as the best-performing stock market in Africa for 2024, and early data from the first quarter of 2025 shows it remains on the same trajectory, according to a high-level delegation from Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The disclosure was made during a courtesy visit to Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Emmanuel Smith, led by SEC Deputy Director-General Mensah Thompson.

The meeting, which took place in Washington, D.C., focused on the exchange’s remarkable performance, the role of the diaspora in national development, and the growing opportunities for investors eyeing Ghana’s economic recovery.

“The Ghana Stock Exchange was the best in Africa in 2024, and this year, even within the first quarter, the exchange remains the best performing in Africa,” Thompson told the Ambassador.

He attributed the strong performance to declining inflation, improving economic stability, and lower interest rates—conditions that have made Ghana’s capital markets increasingly attractive to investors seeking stronger returns than those available in more saturated markets.

Ambassador Calls for Diaspora and Foreign Capital

Ambassador Smith welcomed the news and used the platform to make a direct appeal to wealthy Ghanaians abroad and foreign investors. He argued that channelling diaspora resources and “American big pockets” back into Ghana would create jobs and reduce the economic pressure that drives many young Ghanaians to seek opportunities overseas.

“We can partner with some of these American big pockets and take advantage of the opportunities we are offering back home,” Smith said.

He revealed that his office, working alongside the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), is actively organising investor presentations and forums to showcase Ghana’s investment climate. He urged the SEC delegation to participate in all business engagements organised by the Embassy.

“My emphasis is on taking Ghanaians with you, encouraging those in the diaspora to invest and return home to help build the country,” he added.

Licensed Platforms and Investor Protection

Dorothy Yeboah-Asiamah, the SEC’s Head of International Relations, addressed the growing interest among Ghanaians abroad in investing in local securities. She urged potential investors to use only licensed and regulated platforms to protect their funds and strengthen overall market confidence.

“We have licensed brokers and investment schemes that allow people abroad to safely invest in securities in Ghana, and we want more members of the diaspora to take advantage of these opportunities,” she said.

The SEC delegation to Washington also included Peter McNamara (Policy Research Unit), Emmanuel Darko (Broker Dealers and Advisers), Richard Dusi (Head of Fintech and Innovation), and Marilyn Lamiokor-Mills (Board Secretariat).

The visit underscores Ghana’s aggressive push to position itself as a premier investment destination in Africa, leveraging its capital markets as a key pillar of economic transformation.

An economist-turned-farm owner is pulling back the curtain on her ambitious plan to build a $1 million+ farm ecosystem in Ghana, one that aims to “change the narrative of the African farmer.”

In a series of candid and often humorous posts on Instagram, Dr. Nana Adowaa Boateng shows the world how she is navigating the very real, unfiltered chaos of rural agribusiness.

The entrepreneur, whose journey is documented under the handle @thetalkingdrumchocolate, and under themes like “The Curious Case of a Bougie African Economist…Turned Confused Farmer,“ is challenging the polished perception of modern farming. From negotiating land purchases under cashew trees to paying for farmland with cash in a plastic bag, her story is as unconventional as it is refreshingly honest.

“I make chocolate not in a factory but in a kitchen island with a view,” she writes, juxtaposing the “soft life” dream of air conditioning and iced caramel lattes with the gritty reality of drying cocoa beans beside her swimming pool, and questioning her life decisions.

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A post shared by Nana | Farm to Chocolate (@talkingdrumchocolate)

A System in Progress

The posts reveal a multi-layered ambition. While one image shows the tagline, “I am building a $1M+ farm ecosystem in Ghana. You’re just seeing it early. Follow the journey to see how it turns out,” another points out that this is more than a personal venture: “But it’s also giving – a system in progress to change the narrative of the African farmer.”

However, the journey is far from typical. The farmer admits she was never fully ready for farm life—arriving at the property not in a pickup truck but in a Mercedes—while openly questioning her decisions with hashtags like #farmlifeisnotthesoftlife and #chaaai. Yet, that confusion is presented as a strength: “Because nothing about an economist turned farm owner turned chocolate maker is normal.”

As interest grows in locally sourced, artisanal chocolate and value-added agricultural exports from West Africa, this economist’s leap of faith stands as both a cautionary tale and an inspiration.

She is not waiting for the perfect conditions, she is building, one cash-filled plastic bag and one dried cocoa bean at a time, while inviting the world to watch.

Dr. Boateng is also a writer and international development specialist with experience across South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, the US, and France.