Aliko Dangote plans to list at least 10% of his Ethiopian fertilizer business on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange once production at the Gode urea complex has stabilised. Fertilizer Daily, citing Ecofin Agency, reported that Dangote presented the proposal to investors in Addis Ababa on 15 October and intends to discuss it with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. No date, share price or investor eligibility criteria have yet been established for the proposed listing.
The project is owned 60% by Dangote Group and 40% by Ethiopian Investment Holdings, Ethiopia’s sovereign wealth fund. Located in the country’s south-east, the complex is designed to produce 3 million tonnes of urea a year, with operations targeted to begin in 2029. The proposed share sale would therefore follow the establishment of stable production, rather than precede the plant’s start-up.
According to Fertilizer Daily, the expected investment has risen from an original $2.5 billion to more than $4 billion as the development’s scope has broadened. Alongside the urea complex, the project now includes a natural gas pipeline, a power plant, a packaging unit and a blending facility. Construction started in October 2025. The outlet said it had previously reported a start-up target of roughly 40 months from the beginning of construction.
The planned output is substantially larger than Ethiopia’s current urea imports. World Bank trade figures cited by Fertilizer Daily put those imports at approximately 366,500 tonnes, valued at $151 million, in 2025. The report said the scale of the Gode complex could allow Ethiopia to become a regional fertilizer supplier, although that remains a potential outcome of the planned capacity.
Dangote also told investors that Ethiopia would accommodate some of the largest developments within his proposed $40 billion to $50 billion investment programme across Africa. Separately, he invited Ethiopian investors to take part in the initial public offering of his Nigerian refinery, which the report said remains open until 27 October.