MTN CEO Ralph Mupita joins Dangote Fertiliser board ahead of IPO push

Africa’s largest telecoms group boss is stepping into agribusiness. MTN CEO Ralph Mupita has been appointed to the board of Dangote Fertiliser as Aliko Dangote prepares the unit for expansion and a high-stakes listing on the Nigerian Exchange, bringing capital markets expertise to one of the continent’s most ambitious industrial plays.

By Nhlanhla Muthe

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita has joined the board of Dangote Fertiliser as Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, prepares the agribusiness unit for expansion and a planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange.

Africa’s biggest telecoms boss has landed a powerful new boardroom role.

MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita has been appointed to the board of Dangote Fertiliser, the fast-growing agribusiness arm of Aliko Dangote’s industrial empire, as the company gears up for expansion and a planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Dangote Fertiliser Managing Director Vishwajit Sinha confirmed the appointment, marking a high-profile addition as the business prepares for an initial public offering later this year. The move brings together two of the continent’s most influential corporate leaders at a time when agriculture, food security and industrial scale are becoming central to Africa’s growth story.

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has spent decades building Dangote Industries into one of the continent’s largest conglomerates, with interests spanning cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, petrochemicals and oil refining. His vision has been unapologetically bold in its quest to reduce Africa’s dependence on imports by investing billions in large-scale industrial infrastructure. That philosophy produced Africa’s largest cement producer, a $20 billion oil refinery outside Lagos, and one of the world’s biggest urea fertiliser plants.

Dangote Fertiliser currently produces about 3 million tonnes of granulated urea annually and aims to become the largest producer globally by 2028. To get there, the group plans to expand its $2.5 billion Lagos complex and begin construction of a new facility in Ethiopia this year, deepening its pan-African footprint.

Mupita’s appointment adds capital markets and governance muscle to those ambitions. The tech executive spearheaded MTN Nigeria’s landmark listing in 2019. This move helped unlock local ownership and turned the unit into one of the NGX’s most valuable companies, with revenue more than quadrupling since. His experience navigating regulators, investors and complex markets is seen as critical as Dangote Fertiliser courts institutional capital.

Africa’s rapidly growing population and rising food demand could push the continent’s agriculture sector beyond $1 trillion by 2030, according to the African Development Bank. Yet farmers still face limited access to inputs, finance and infrastructure. Dangote’s bet is that scale, local production and smarter distribution can change that equation.

For Mupita, the board role extends his influence beyond telecoms into the heart of Africa’s industrial and food security agenda, another sign that the continent’s biggest businesses are increasingly interconnected, and thinking long term.