Displaying items by tag: Cameroon

This week Aliko Dangote retired as the chair of Dangote Cement. It’s a big deal, as Dangote founded parent company Dangote Industries in 1981 as an importer of bagged cement and other commodities such as rice, sugar, flour and salt. Over 40 years later Dangote Cement is the biggest cement company in Africa with a reported capacity of 52Mt/yr, operations in at least 10 countries and annual revenues of US$2.3bn. Dangote personally has also become Africa’s richest inhabitant along the way. It’s an extraordinary achievement.

As CEO Arvind Pathak, said in the company’s half-year report, “We celebrate our president, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who now steps down from the board, for his pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy. His visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering commitment laid the very foundation of our journey. Under his guidance, the company achieved remarkable milestones, expanded its footprint, and set new standards of excellence across the industry.” Dangote is aged 68 years and his successor as chair of Dangote Cement, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, is aged 76 years.

The key acquisitions started in 2000, when the company purchased a controlling stake in Benue Cement following its privatisation. Then, in 2002, it bought Obajana Cement and started up its first production line at the site by 2007. Obajana has since become the group’s largest plant in Nigeria with a production capacity of 16.3Mt/yr across four lines. The company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010. Dangote Cement set up other plants in Nigeria and the Cement Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (CMAN) declared that the country was ‘self-sufficient’ in cement in 2012. Dangote the cement importer had become Dangote the cement producer. Then it became Dangote the cement exporter when it established its first overseas cement terminal in Ghana in 2011. Finally, it became Dangote the cement multinational when production plants outside of Nigeria started to be built in the early 2000s with units in Senegal and South Africa starting up in 2014. Today, in 2025, Dangote Cement has operations in Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Naturally, one doesn’t build a conglomerate as large and successful as Dangote Industries without dividing opinion along the way. Issues on the cement side of the business include criticism of how Dangote managed to beat his rivals to buy government-run cement companies in the early 2000s. To be fair to Dangote though, other companies including Blue Circle and HeidelbergCement did the same thing at this time. Arguments about this issue resurfaced publicly in 2022 when the Kogi State Government took Dangote Cement to court over its ownership of the Obajana plant in relation to tax revenue.

Another issue in Nigeria in recent years has been repeated arguments about the price of cement. Despite the country becoming ‘self-sufficient’ in cement, the cost has prompted scrutiny by legislators. Meanwhile, Dangote Cement has continued to make handsome profits year after year. Outside of Nigeria, Dangote’s expansion plans haven’t always gone smoothly. Its plans to open a plant in Kenya, for example, appear to have been stymied repeatedly. Infamously, Dangote himself allegedly described Kenya as being more corrupt than Nigeria to Kenyan media. A long heralded listing on the London Stock Exchange never happened and acquisitions outside of Africa are yet to occur. Looking forward, future challenges include newer entrants into the Sub-Saharan African cement such as those from China. A sign of challenges to come include the pending acquisition of Lafarge Africa by Huaxin Cement as China continues to attempt to export its cement production ambitions.

As Aliko Dangote steps down as chair from his cement business, the potential for both his company and the continent it is based in remains high. Demographic factors favour economic growth in Africa in the 21st Century due to its growing population and need for development. This will require plenty of cement and Dangote Cement is well positioned to supply it.

And finally… some people take up gardening in their retirement. Should Dangote become bored in his retirement from the cement business though he could consider the example of the former CEO of Ireland-based CRH. It was announced last week that Albert Manifold has been appointed as the chair of oil and gas company BP. Dangote Group already operates an oil refinery. Perhaps future opportunities beckon.

Nigeria: Domestic sales revenue and earnings have driven Dangote Cement’s financial performance in the first half of 2025. Its sales revenue grew by 17.7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the reporting period compared to US$1.15bn in 2024. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 41.8% to US$618m from US$435m. Sales and earnings grew sharply at home in Nigeria yet they fell elsewhere in Africa. Sales volumes of cement dropped by 4.1% to 13.4Mt from 13.9Mt, with a minor decrease locally and a sharper fall in other countries.

Arvind Pathak, CEO of Dangote Cement, said “While group volumes declined… [due] to softer demand in key markets, we remain encouraged by the growth in our export business. Export volumes from Nigeria increased by 18.2%, with 18 successful clinker shipments made to Ghana and Cameroon. This demonstrates the growing importance of our pan-African footprint and our ongoing commitment to regional trade and self-sufficiency.

By region, the group noted that its sales revenue in Nigeria rose sharply driven by price adjustments to keep up with inflation. Exports from national operations increased by 18.2% to 671,000t. 481,000t of this total was sent to Cameroon and Ghana. In the rest of Africa the company blamed lower sales volumes on post-election uncertainties in Senegal and South Africa, and liquidity constraints in Ethiopia due to delays in the approval of the national budget.

Finally, it was announced that company chair and founder Aliko Dangote has stepped down from the board of directors. It celebrated his, “pivotal and transformative role in shaping the company’s growth, success, and lasting legacy.”

Cameroon: Cimencam, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim-Maroc Afrique, inaugurated its subsidiary Cimencam Figuil’s (CIMFIG) new clinker and cement production line at the Figuil cement plant in Cameroon’s North Region on 12 June 2025, according to the Business in Cameroon newspaper.

The new line, part of an expansion project at the 40-year-old Figuil cement plant, has a cement capacity of 500,000t/yr and a clinker capacity of 1,000t/day. Cimencam invested US$88m in the expansion. The upgraded plant will supply cement to the North, Adamaoua and Far North regions, and aims to enter the Chadian market, which reportedly experiences frequent shortages and high prices.

Cameroon: A new cement brand, Cimaco, has entered the market, starting in June 2025, according to the Business in Cameroon newspaper. Chinese-owned company Sinafcam Sarl made the announcement, stating that it will produce the cement at its 1Mt/yr-capacity plant in Edéa, Littoral region. The launch will include three product grades: 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5. Sinafcam becomes the country’s seventh cement producer.

The Ministry of Industry expects two additional Chinese plants in Edéa: Central Africa Cement with 1.5Mt/yr of capacity and Yousheng Cement with 1.8Mt/yr. However, despite the rise in production facilities over the past decade, the retail price of a 50kg cement bag still remains high, reportedly due to the elevated cost of clinker imports.

Cameroon: Cameroon will increase its cement production capacity by 4.3Mt to 12.7Mt/yr by the end of 2025 with the addition of three new plants in Édéa, according to Business in Cameroon. The new facilities will help meet local demand and support exports.

The first plant, Sino Africaine (Sinafcim) is under construction and will have a 1Mt/yr capacity. It is set to begin production in April 2025. It will employ 200 workers and 90% will be Cameroonian. The second, Central Africa Cement (CAC), has been operational for several months with a 1.5Mt/yr capacity. It currently employs 100 people and aims to reach 200. The third, Yousheng Cement, is being built near Douala and will have a 1.8Mt/yr capacity. National demand in Cameroon is reportedly around 8Mt.

Nigeria: Dangote Cement has exported 14 shipments of clinker from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon as part of its strategy to boost foreign exchange inflows, reports Business Post Nigeria. The company reported that high demand for its products has ‘significantly’ increased its pan-African operations.

CEO Arvind Pathak said “This effort resulted in a 55% surge in our Nigerian exports, underscoring our commitment to fostering African self-sufficiency.”

Cameroon: Cimpor has inaugurated its new plant in Kribi, Cameroon. Following investments in Côte d'Ivoire, Cimpor embarked on this greenfield project in February 2020, integrating the ‘world's first’ operational flash calcined clay production line, launched on 29 October 2023.

Cimpor Cameroun now has an output of 1.2Mt/yr of cement and 0.4Mt/yr of calcined clay. Cimpor's calcined clay production technology - ‘deOHclay’ – reportedly saves up to 80% in CO₂ emissions, up to 35% in electricity consumption and up to 40% in thermal energy consumption per tonne. Compared to a plant with a similar capacity, this technology could reduce CO₂ emissions by around 0.2Mt/yr, according to the company. The new plant will reduce the country’s dependence on imports to meet local cement needs.

Cameroon: Cimpor has begun operation of a new cement plant in the industrial and port area of Kribi, Cameroon. The plant has a production capacity of 1Mt/yr. Cimpor's entry makes it the sixth active cement producer in Cameroon, nine years after the end of a 48-year monopoly held by Cimencam, a subsidiary of Lafarge Holcim Maroc Afrique (LHMA).

Cameroon's first competitor was Dangote Cement Cameroon (1.5Mt/yr), followed by Morocco's Cimaf (1.5Mt/yr with the completion of the Douala plant extension), Mira Company (1.5Mt/yr), and Medcem Cameroon, a subsidiary of Turkey's Eren Holding (0.6Mt/yr).

With Cimpor's arrival, Cameroon's annual cement production capacity reaches 8.4Mt/yr, enough to satisfy the national demand, estimated at approximately 8Mt/yr. However, Cameroonian citizens still consider the cost of a 50kg cement bag high compared to countries with similar production levels.

Cameroon: The Minister of Trade, Luc-Magloire Mbarga Atangana, has announced cuts to the price cement. He attributed this to a substantial increase in the production capacity of Mira SA’s plant to 1.5Mt/yr from 0.5Mt/yr, according to the Cameroon Tribune newspaper. Prices of some products have reportedly fallen by up to 12%.

Algeria: Groupe des Ciments d'Algérie (GICA) has obtained a certificate of conformity with European standards (CE) for three types of cement. The certification should allow the company to export more products to Europe, according to the Expression newspaper. It applies to its Gica Moudhad and Gica Béton products. The move follows similar certification of products with the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR) from the company’s Aïn El Kebira plant in July 2021. At the same time the Minister of Industry said it was helping the group with its export strategy.

In 2021 GICA exported 2.25Mt of cement to countries including the Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Senegal , Cameroon, Benin,  Guinea, Brazil, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and a number of European countries.