Aliko Dangote in a new partnership deal with Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals, pushing into the global petrochemical

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is widening his industrial reach, moving beyond oil refining into the global petrochemical sector through a landmark partnership with Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is pushing Nigeria deeper into the global industrial map with a new deal that links Lagos to Tokyo.

Through a partnership with Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals, announced at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Dangote will channel feedstock from his $20 billion Lagos refinery into resins, plastics and fertilizers, products that touch everything from food security to everyday consumer goods.

Beyond commerce, the move signals a cultural and political shift: Japan deepening its corporate footprint in Nigeria and Africa, positioning itself not just as an oil exporter but as a hub for high-value industrial raw materials.

And to Dangote, it is another bold step in his energy empire, supporting the development to grant Nigeria more opportunity to create new jobs, cut import dependence and assert itself as a rising industrial power on the global stage.