Africa Energy Technology Centre and Dangote Cement Explore Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Low-Carbon Industrialisation and Youth Employment Across Africa
Talks centre on alternative fuels, lower-carbon cements, cleaner logistics and ESG standards, alongside new pathways for young Africans and women into the continent's industrial value chains
AETC NewsroomAfrica Energy Technology Centre
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ACCRA, Ghana – 26 October 2026 – The Africa Energy Technology Centre (AETC), led by its Founder and President, Ms Emelia Akumah, has held a high-level strategic meeting with Mr Arvind Pathak, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, and members of the company's executive leadership, to explore collaboration in sustainable industrial development, clean technology, regional trade and youth empowerment.
The engagement brought together a pan-African convening and deal-making platform and the continent's largest cement producer around a shared conviction: that Africa's next phase of growth must be built by African industry, powered by African innovation and financed through African partnerships.
An industrial leader setting the pace
Dangote Cement is Africa's leading cement manufacturer, with installed capacity of approximately 55 million tonnes per annum across 11 African countries. Its West African footprint includes the integrated plant at Pout in Senegal and operations at Tema and Takoradi in Ghana, which support local supply, distribution and manufacturing capacity.
The company is pursuing one of the most ambitious expansion programmes in Africa's industrial sector. A US$1 billion agreement with China's Sinoma Engineering will deliver 12 cement projects across seven African countries, supporting a target of 80 million tonnes per annum of capacity by 2030. Dangote Cement is also positioning Nigeria as a low-cost regional export hub, replacing costly intercontinental imports with African production: Nigerian cement and clinker exports rose by more than 62 per cent in the first half of 2026, and the company is targeting 10 million tonnes of annual exports by the end of the decade.
This growth is being matched by a clear sustainability agenda. Dangote Cement has committed to reducing its net CO2 emissions intensity by 20 per cent and had already achieved a 6.5 per cent reduction against its 2021 baseline by the end of 2025, alongside lower energy and water consumption. Its decarbonisation strategy rests on three levers: energy efficiency, increased use of alternative fuels and a lower clinker factor. In 2025 alone, the company co-processed more than 437,000 tonnes of waste as alternative fuel, including agricultural residues, palm kernel shells and refuse-derived fuels.
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In logistics, Dangote Cement now operates one of Africa's largest fleets of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks, with more than 3,000 CNG and over 1,000 dual-fuel vehicles deployed and a further 1,500 CNG trucks being acquired. The company plans to run its Nigerian fleet on CNG by 2027 and is introducing electric trucks, supported by dedicated refuelling infrastructure such as its Obajana CNG station, which can serve more than 3,000 trucks.
The company has also strengthened its governance and social commitments, launching its Tree-to-Forest biodiversity programme across all operating locations, committing to voluntary early adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, adopting new policies on AI risk management and disability inclusion, and integrating nearly 300 local vendors into an ESG-focused supply chain programme.
Areas of potential collaboration
Building on this foundation, AETC and Dangote Cement considered how joint technical assessments, demonstration projects and knowledge-sharing could accelerate efficient, low-carbon industrial operations – and how AETC's network could connect Dangote Cement's operational priorities with African technology providers, research institutions, investors and policymakers able to support implementation at scale.
Priority areas under discussion include:
• Alternative fuels: expanding the use of locally sourced biomass and waste in cement production, creating new value chains for farmers, aggregators and waste-management enterprises.
• Lower-carbon cements: increasing the use of pozzolanic materials and calcined clay to reduce clinker intensity.
• Cleaner logistics: scaling CNG, dual-fuel and electric solutions for heavy-duty distribution fleets, together with the supporting fuelling infrastructure.
• Carbon accounting and ESG: developing credible, consistent environmental performance standards for African manufacturers, strengthening the competitiveness of locally produced goods as they expand into regional markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Investing in Africa's industrial workforce
Beyond technology, the meeting underscored that Africa's industrial transformation will be decided by its people. Discussions focused on opening meaningful pathways for young people and women into energy, manufacturing, engineering, technology and related value chains.
This aligns closely with AETC's Youth Energy Entrepreneurship & Incubation Programme (YEEIP), which equips young African innovators, entrepreneurs and technical professionals with mentorship, incubation and market access to commercialise viable energy and technology solutions – including those that could serve the alternative-fuel, materials and logistics needs of major industrial operators.
“Dangote Cement has shown what African industrial ambition looks like when it is matched with a serious commitment to sustainability. Our role at AETC is to connect that ambition with the innovators, investors and policymakers who can help scale it – and to make sure Africa's young people and women are part of building it. This is how we move from dialogue to deals,” said Ms Emelia Akumah, Founder and President of the Africa Energy Technology Centre.
Connecting industry, innovation and investment
The proposed collaboration draws on AETC's portfolio of initiatives connecting technology, enterprise, investment and policy across the continent:
• Africa Energy Technology Conference (AETC) – AETC's flagship convening platform, whose fourth edition, AETC 2027, takes place in Accra from 24 to 28 May 2027 under the theme “Engineering Sovereignty: Scaling and Commercializing Indigenous Technologies for Africa's Unified Energy Economy.” The programme will include dedicated forums on energy finance and investment, women and girls in energy, and African manufacturing and local content.
• Youth Energy Entrepreneurship & Incubation Programme (YEEIP)
• Ghana Solar Prosumer Initiative
• Africa Smart Energy Technology & Innovation Hub (ASETIH)
• Intra-Africa Energy Trade & Investment Forum
Together, these platforms provide practical channels for linking African industry with innovators, financiers, governments and technology partners, and for converting high-level engagement into commercially viable projects.
The engagement between AETC and Dangote Cement signals a wider opportunity: deeper collaboration between African institutions and African industry to build resilient value chains, accelerate technology adoption and secure a more sustainable, competitive and self-reliant industrial future for the continent.
AETC Founder and President Emelia Akumah paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Rui Orlando Xavier, Ambassador of Angola to Ghana, to strengthen energy and technology cooperation.
Africa Energy Technology Centre and Dangote Cement Explore Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Low-Carbon Industrialisation and Youth Employment Across Africa · AETC 2027
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