Tanzanian Billionaire Dewji to invest Ksh13 billion in Dangote’s Lamu oil refinery
Tanzanian Billionaire Dewji to invest Ksh13 billion in Dangote’s Lamu oil refinery
Tanzanian Billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, has announced plans to invest Ksh13 billion ($100 million) in Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s proposed oil refinery in Lamu.
Dewji is set to become one of the first major investors to back the multi-trillion-shilling project, with the latest update coming just days after Dangote selected Kenya as his preferred location for the refinery.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, July 9, Dewji praised Dangote’s achievements in Nigeria and said he would reach out to the billionaire to discuss co-investing in the refinery.
“I have spoken to Aliko. What he is doing in Nigeria is unbelievable, and as a matter of fact, I will also reach out to him and say that if he’s putting a refinery in East Africa, I will co-invest,” Dewji said.
Although the Tanzanian billionaire said he would prefer the investment to be done in his home country, he said he would still be willing to participate if Dangote proceeds with the Kenyan project.
“I would lean more toward Tanzania than in Kenya,” Dewji said, despite his willingness to invest over Ksh13 billion in the planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery.
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His planned Ksh13 billion investment adds to growing investor confidence in the project, which is expected to cost Ksh1.9 trillion to Ksh2.2 trillion, making it one of the largest investments in Kenya’s history.
Commonly known as Mo, Dewji has a net worth of Ksh284.9 billion ($2.2 billion), making him East Africa’s richest person and the region’s only billionaire on the Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list.
Dangote Industries Vice President for Oil and Gas, Edwin Devakumar, recently confirmed that the company had already selected a site in Lamu, with soil testing underway and engineering and design work progressing.
Devakumar also revealed that the project has attracted significant interest from investors across the region, saying many potential financiers have already approached the company to participate in the refinery.
The refinery will be financed through a combination of Dangote’s internally generated funds, bond financing and proceeds expected from the planned initial public offering (IPO) of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria.
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