Aliko Dangote Laments: I Want 35 Visas to Journey Inside Africa and an European Doesn’t

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has lamented the journey bottlenecks inside Africa, which in line with him, may stunt the continent’s growth if not tackled head-on.

Dangote said this on the current Africa CEO Discussion board in Kigali, Rwanda. He defined that he must get 35 totally different visas to work throughout Africa, which is way simpler for some from Europe, like Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of Whole Energies, who doesn’t face these points together with his French passport.

“I nonetheless complained to President Kagame. I informed him that as an investor, I’ve to now apply for 35 totally different visas on my passport, and I informed Mr. President, I actually don’t have the time to go and be dropping my passports in embassies to get a visa,” Dangote stated.

He identified the unfairness, saying, “You don’t want 35 visas in your French passport. This implies you may have a freer motion than myself in Africa.”

Aliko Dangote additionally spoke about the necessity to make regional markets work higher earlier than transferring on to larger initiatives just like the Africa Continental Free Commerce Settlement (AfCFTA).

“We can’t have a really promising continent and our intra-trade price is lower than 16 %,” he famous, emphasising that Africans have to cleared the path in creating their continent. “So it could solely occur to us Africans. We should threat our sources and make it possible for we lead, then we may have individuals who truly belief and consider in Africa like Patrick to return and assist us to push to the subsequent degree.”

No Extra Petrol Importation in Nigeria

Dangote additionally disclosed that by June, Nigeria will be self-sufficient in petrol manufacturing, due to the graduation of operations on the Dangote refinery.

This transfer is predicted to finish the nation’s historical past of petrol imports, marking a brand new period of vitality independence for Nigeria.

Dangote’s feedback on the discussion board make clear the sensible challenges going through African entrepreneurs and highlighted the continued efforts to foster a extra built-in, self-sustaining financial atmosphere throughout the continent.