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Dangote Industries has appointed Ralph Mupita, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Group, to the board of Dangote Fertiliser Limited, as the company prepares for expansion and a planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
The Managing Director of Dangote Fertiliser, Vishwajit Sinha, confirmed the appointment in an email response to enquiries from Bloomberg. The move is widely regarded as a strategic step ahead of the company’s proposed initial public offering, expected later this year.
Dangote Fertiliser currently produces around three million metric tonnes of granulated urea annually from its $2.5 billion production facility in Lagos. The company has outlined ambitious plans to scale up operations and become the world’s largest fertiliser producer by 2028.
Mupita’s appointment strengthens the board with extensive capital markets and corporate governance expertise. He played a key role in the landmark listing of MTN Nigeria on the NGX in 2019, one of the most significant capital market transactions in Nigeria’s recent history. Since then, MTN Nigeria’s revenue has more than quadrupled, and the company has grown into the exchange’s second most valuable stock, with an estimated market capitalisation of about $8.6 billion.
Mupita has led MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecoms operator by subscriber base, for over five years, having joined the company in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer. He previously held senior leadership positions at South Africa’s Old Mutual and is trained as an engineer, a background that aligns with Dangote’s large-scale industrial operations.
As part of its broader strategy, Dangote plans to expand its Lagos fertiliser plant and commence construction of a new facility in Ethiopia this year. The group has also disclosed plans to list its refinery business, as it seeks to raise fresh capital, improve transparency and widen ownership among domestic and international investors.
The appointment comes amid rising demand for agricultural inputs across Africa. With the continent’s population growing rapidly, the African Development Bank estimates that agriculture could exceed a $1 trillion market by 2030, highlighting the opportunity for large-scale producers such as Dangote Fertiliser.
