Africa's richest man went all in, building a refinery for $23 billion. Everyone laughed... But 11 years later, he doubled his personal wealth in just one year. Today, he processes 500,000 barrels of crude oil daily. How Aliko Dangote permanently changed the global energy market: 🧵

Let me paint a picture for you: In 2013, oil prices soared. Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer, couldn't even refine its own crude oil. Instead, they spent billions of dollars each year importing refined oil from Europe. Most people only saw the problem. But Aliko Dangote saw an opportunity.

Building the largest refinery in Africa is no easy task — it requires: • 6,511 acres of land • $23 billion in funding • 65 million cubic meters of sand • All infrastructure built from scratch And what's truly crazy is this:

The chosen location is a complete swamp. There isn't a single road, port, or power line. Dangote has to start from scratch — including a deep-water port, 30 kilometers of roads, a power station, and a water supply system. The real challenge is just beginning...

The entire project continues to face setbacks: Local officials forced him to relocate the entire project. The Nigerian currency plummeted, depreciating by more than 70%. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted global supply chains. But Dangote knows that what he is doing is far more than just building a refinery:

To raise funds for this massive project, Dangote is going all out: • Borrowing $5.5 billion from banks • Selling a portion of his cement business equity • Putting in $10 billion from his holding company "This is the biggest bet of my life. If I fail, I'm done."

January 2024: The refinery officially goes into production. By January 2025, it will process 500,000 barrels of crude oil daily, exporting to: Europe, Brazil, the UK, the US, Singapore, and South Korea. Even Saudi Aramco sources aviation fuel from them.

European refiners watched helplessly as their dominance in the market collapsed. Nigeria has become a net exporter of jet fuel, naphtha, and fuel oil. The global energy market changed overnight. And what about Dangote?

"We must rely on ourselves to build our country. We must rely on ourselves to build our continent." His refinery is not just processing oil. It is processing the future of Africa. For a long time, Africa has been stuck in a dilemma:

The exported goods are cheap raw materials, while the imported ones are expensive finished products. Dangote's refinery breaks this cycle. It proves that Africa can build world-class industrial facilities. And the real opportunities are not in the places everyone sees...

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