Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote said on Monday that the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran could put more strain on African economies which are already struggling with high debt servicing.
He warned that despite Africa having nothing to do with the conflict, the continent is still very much exposed to global energy price volatility, which will create hardship for the people and government.
If the conflict doesn’t de-escalate soon, the business tycoon warned that the world would likely experience a replica of what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic—people would be forced to work from their homes again—because of high energy costs.
Africans rely on daily earnings without much savings or reserves that could last for weeks or months – if the continent should go back to lockdown because of rising energy prices – Dangote said “a lot of people would not have anything to eat.”
“Africa is very busy paying debts, putting this (price volatility from Middle-East escalation) again upto of us is going to add a lot of hardship on people and on the government” Dangote told reporters.
S&P forecasted that Over 25 African nations are expected to exceed the 20% debt service-to-revenue benchmark this year.
In countries like Egypt, interest payments could absorb as much as 70% of government revenue in 2026, largely due to high domestic borrowing costs and the fallout from exchange rate liberalizations.
Last week, the World Food Programme (WFP) issued a global alert, warning that the escalating volatility in the Middle East is threatening to plunge an additional 10.4 million people in West and Central Africa into acute food insecurity, a staggering 21% increase in the number of people facing hunger across the region.
Dangote’s comments come as Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery increases gasoline exports to Africa, capitalizing on disruptions to traditional fuel supply routes. The refinery has sold 12 cargoes of premium motor spirit to countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Ghana.
