From the 23rd to the 24th of April 2026, the inaugural 'Africa We Build' economics summit took place in Nairobi, Kenya. Heads of state, investors and development finance institutions from all over Eastern Africa joined the event to discuss collaborative efforts for growth in the region, with oil at the center of it all.

By Noémie Schwander | May 14 2026

Hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in partnership with the Kenyan government, the event’s declared objective was to “bring together public and private sector leaders in Nairobi [...] to focus on how to move infrastructure from priority to implementation across Africa”. Between talks of energetic self-sufficiency and industrial innovation in the East-African region, attendees notably drafted a plan for a new, big-scale, African oil refinery, following the trend of growing efforts for a regional supply of energy, at a time when war in Iran and national financial instabilities hinder the region’s growth. 

Refineries galore: an ambitious but tangible prospect

As underlined during the summit, while the African continent produces a considerable amount of the raw ore and crude oil in the world, its transformation into refined products is oftentimes handled by foreign powers, resulting in disastrous economic and financial dependency on those same powers. Despite its production of 10 million oil barrels a day, the continent is estimated to import $230 billion in goods, 70% of which being fueling solutions, a figure only expected to grow in the current, ever-precarious supply chain. 

Although some African countries such as Chad, Niger or more recently Uganda have attempted to install and exploit national refineries, their smaller scale is often unable to compete with oil giants from the Middle East or India, be it in quantity, pricing or product diversity. With what many are now calling the third Gulf war between the United States and Iran - which began in February 2026 - pressure on oil distribution and subsequent price surges have proven the need for larger energetic self-sufficiency in a most urgent manner. 

The Dangote Refinery: a precursor of things to come? 

Such an undertaking seems all the more accessible since 2024, when Africa’s largest oil refinery - and one of the largest in the world - was unveiled near Lagos after a decade under construction. The Dangote refinery, named after its founder, Nigerian cement, fertilizer and grain tycoon Aliko Dangote, was built with the capacity to produce upwards of 650,000 barrels per day, enough to cover Nigeria’s daily consumption and leave some for exportation to its neighbours. While the project ended up costing about 20 billion USD, double what was budgeted at the beginning of production, it has now been running at full speed for a few years and reduced the country’s foreign oil import quite considerably, supplying refined petroleum to Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and other African nations. 

Although the businessman’s mutual support of national politicians has benefitted his endeavors over the years, observers doubt that such an infrastructure could rival, let alone subside established giants of oil exportation for the time being. 

East-Africa’s collaborative mega-project 

Nevertheless, shockwaves were sent through the entire continent when at the Africa We Build summit, Aliko Dangote informed the investors and politicians present of his intention to build a new refinery, following the same model as the one in Nigeria, to supply Eastern Africa with regional, transformed oil. 

"If the president of Kenya or Uganda supports us, we'll build an oil refinery in this region just as big as the one in Lagos," he said. 

It took no time for the president of Kenya and chairman of the East African Community (or EAC), William Ruto, to take to the podium and inform the crowd that talks between the governments of Kenya and Uganda and Mr. Dangote were already underway, and that a possible placement of the crude oil refinery in Tanzania, at the end of a 1,443-kilometre pipeline, could prove most efficient in the rapid production and distribution of African oil. 

While there have been concerns over the past few years for the consequences of such installations on the local population, often displaced and not prioritized in the newly created labor market, if achieved properly, this considerable project could not only further Africa’s independence towards Western energies and better its economic status, but also solidify the ties within the East African Community (an intergovernmental organization composed of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, and the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania) by showcasing the true impact and power of cooperation.