Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has called for more local investments to attract foreign capital in Nigeria. The billionaire industrialist made the call on Monday during a public lecture at FUTO themed “Enterprise, Leadership and Service to Humanity.”

During the event, Dangote pledged to construct a N550 million student hostel at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). He also announced a N25 million donation to students through the Student Union Government (SUG).

Dangote said local investment is a critical signal for attracting foreign capital, arguing that external investors typically follow domestic confidence rather than initiate it.

Beyond the infrastructure pledge, Dangote used the platform to make a strong case for domestic investment-led development, stressing that Nigeria’s economic transformation must be driven primarily by local capital.

“If I refuse to invest in Nigeria and Africa, no foreign investor will be willing to stake his funds here,” he said. “Foreign investment follows local confidence. It does not lead it.”

The industrialist argued that nations that have successfully industrialised did so through strong domestic investment ecosystems, rather than reliance on external capital inflows. “Asian economies were powered by Asians, not foreign investment. They invested in their countries and built their own economies,” he added.

Dangote, who built his conglomerate from commodity trading into one of Africa’s largest industrial groups, also reflected on his entrepreneurial journey, noting that he began by distributing cement and other basic goods before transitioning into large-scale manufacturing through backward integration.

According to him, Nigeria’s long-term economic stability depends on a shift away from import dependency toward local production.