Staff Writer
African Export-Import Bank has congratulated Kenya on the groundbreaking of the Dangote oil refinery in Lamu.
The landmark investment has the potential to significantly expandAfrica’s refining capacity, strengthen regional energy security and accelerate the continent’s transition from exporting raw materials to trading value-added products.
The approximately US$16 billion refinery is planned to have capacity to process 700 000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to create approximately 60 000 jobs.
Its intended regional ownership and market reach underscore its potential as an East African industrial asset.
The refinery is expected to process crude sourced from African producers, including Uganda, while supplying refined petroleum products to Kenya and the wider regional market.
George Elombi, president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank, said, “The significance of this investment extends well beyond the construction of a refinery. It demonstrates Africa’s capacity to conceive, finance and build major industrial assets that respond directly to the needs of our economies. By refining more of what we produce on the continent, we retain greater value from our natural resources, create jobs and strengthen the trade links between African economies.”
The Lamu refinery groundbreaking takes place amid a wider expansion of Kenya’s industrial and trade infrastructure, an agenda in which Afreximbank has become an important long-term partner to the government of Kenya.
In 2023, Afreximbank launched a US$3 billion Country Programme for Kenya to support priority public and private-sector projects.
The programme encompasses industrial development and export manufacturing, climate adaptation and irrigation, trade infrastructure, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and initiatives designed to connect Kenyan businesses more effectively to regional and continental markets.
It includes an US$800 million Kenya Climate Change Adaptation Facility supporting irrigation development and broader agricultural productivity.
In addition, working with the Government of Kenya and ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), Afreximbank is supporting the development of the Dongo Kundu Integrated Industrial Park in Mombasa and the Naivasha Special Economic Zone II.
Approximately US$1 billion has been earmarked for development of the two integrated industrial parks, which are expected to strengthen export manufacturing, attract domestic and international investment and enhance Kenya’s position as an industrial and logistics gateway into East and Central Africa.
Government projections have associated the two developments with approximately 140 000 jobs once fully developed.
The bank has also expanded its support for the Vipingo Special Economic Zone in Kilifi County.
In 2025, Afreximbank and KCB Group announced an US$800 million financing framework, comprising US$500 million from Afreximbank and US$300 million from KCB, to support enterprises establishing operations in the zone.
Afreximbank had already disbursed US$40 million towards development of the SEZ. The financing targets enterprises in manufacturing, agro-processing, logistics and other value-addition sectors.
Afreximbank and Dangote Group have built a longstanding partnership focused on industrialisation, value addition and expanding Africa’s productive capacity.
Since 2015, Afreximbank has invested approximately US$15 billion in the Dangote Group. That support has included major financing for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex in Nigeria.
In 2025, Afreximbank signed a US$1.35 billion financing facility as part of an approximately US$4 billion syndicated financing for Dangote Industries Limited.
In 2026, the Bank subsequently underwrote US$2.5 billion of a US$4 billion senior syndicated term loan for the refinery, representing the largest participation in the syndicate.
