Aliko Dangote, the prominent Nigerian entrepreneur, has expressed concerns over the challenges Investors throughout Africa are encountering. While addressing attendees at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, he expressed frustration with the strict travel regulations across African nations. Dangote stated that he requires 35 visas on his Nigerian passport to travel around Africa. The 67-year-old entrepreneur expressed his struggle with travelling throughout the continent to submit his passport for visa applications, citing it as a major challenge.
He voiced his concerns to President Kagame about the inconvenience of obtaining 35 different visas as an investor. He explained that he could not spare the time needed to physically visit embassies to secure these visas. He can tolerate it if they treat everyone equally, but he is offended when they show favouritism. He stated that Patrick Pouyanné, the chairman of Total Energies, does not require 35 visas on his French passport to travel to African countries.
Africans were urged to take charge of their success progress.
With his French passport, he enjoys unrestricted movement across African borders, unlike himself, which would require 35 visas for the same level of freedom. He emphasised the importance of collaboration among African businesses to achieve their goals, stating that relying on foreigners would not lead to success for the continent. Dangote emphasised the importance of ensuring the functionality of regional markets as their primary focus. They can only engage in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement after successfully establishing these markets.
However, it is also crucial for them to ensure the AfCFTA’s effectiveness for successful implementation. Africa’s potential has yet to be fully realised, with intra-trade rates remaining below 16 percent. It is up to the Africans to take charge and drive their development. Relying on foreigners to make it happen will only hinder Africa’s progress. Only Africans can experience this. They need to take chances and ensure they take the lead. Then, they will find supporters who truly believe in Africa, such as Patrick, to assist them in advancing to the next stage.
Nigeria should eliminate the need for gasoline imports soon.
During the event, he made a significant announcement regarding Nigerian petrol imports. He stated that once the Dangote Refinery begins production in June, the country will no longer need to import petrol. Currently, the country is solely dependent on gasoline imports, but by mid-June, the country should eliminate the need for gasoline imports in the next month or so. As a result, he assured that the issue of inadequate petrol supply would be resolved in the nation and other countries in West Africa. There is an abundance of gasoline to fuel the entire West African continent and sufficient diesel for both West Africa and Central Africa.
In addition to being a personal annoyance, the strict visa requirements that investors like Aliko Dangote deal with are also limitations to Economic Development in Africa. These limitations make it more difficult for company executives and entrepreneurs to establish alliances, invest internationally, and discover new markets. For instance, requiring many visas might cause delays in project completion, raise operating expenses, and lower the continent’s attractiveness as an Investment location. Reducing these travel restrictions could increase foreign direct investment, create jobs, and make Technology transfer easier for African countries, contributing to the continent’s economic progress.
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Lastly, African nations must establish policies that simplify business travel and address these issues. Creating a pan-African passport, which the African Union has considered as a way to encourage further economic integration and unity, is one possible solution. Regional accords like the East African Community’s visa-free travel policy for nationals of member states and the simplification of visa procedures could serve as models for the rest of the continent. Effective programmes, such as The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) of the African Union, which attempts to liberalise air travel, might also be extended to cover land and sea travel. By lowering this limitation, African nations may improve the AfCFTA’s efficacy, increase intra-African trade, and realise the continent’s full economic potential.