Dangote pledges $2 billion for a 250MW solar plant in The Gambia

President Adama Barrow announced the commitment at State House in Banjul on the margins of the African Caucus meetings, alongside a fuel storage terminal. The country imported 57 per cent of its electricity in early 2025, and its available generating capacity had fallen below 40MW.

Aliko Dangote committed $2 billion to two Gambian energy projects at a meeting with President Adama Barrow at State House in Banjul on 7 July, held on the margins of the African Caucus 2026 meetings that the country is hosting. The commitment covers a 250MW solar power plant and a modern fuel tank farm intended to strengthen national petroleum reserves.

The proposed capacity is what makes it notable. The Gambia has between 90MW and 99MW of installed generating capacity, of which only part is available, with operational capacity having fallen below 40MW by early 2025 against ageing infrastructure and equipment constraints at the state utility NAWEC. The country imported 57 per cent of its electricity in the first quarter of 2025, drawing mainly on Senegal and Guinea. Its largest solar scheme under construction, the 150MW Soma project, is not due for completion until 2030.

The financing chain is African at both ends. Dangote travelled with Olusegun Alebiosu, chief executive of First Bank Group, whose institution is backing the initiative, pairing Nigerian industrial capital with a Nigerian lender on a West African grid.

What has not happened yet is the part that decides it. The commitment is preliminary. Both sides still have to sign binding agreements, complete feasibility and technical studies, and establish joint implementation structures to oversee delivery. No construction timeline has been set and no breakdown of the $2 billion between the two projects has been disclosed. Barrow has directed the relevant ministries to work with Dangote’s technical teams.

The fuel side has a regional logic behind it. A tank farm holding strategic reserves changes what a small importing country can do about supply shocks, and it arrives as the Dangote refinery in Nigeria reshapes fuel movements across the region. Whether that translates into cheaper fuel in Banjul depends on commercial terms rather than on proximity.

The African Caucus brings African finance ministers together with the World Bank each year, and this edition doubles as The Gambia’s own investment showcase. Barrow described the commitment as a vote of confidence in the country’s stability and reform agenda. The next markers are ordinary ones, a signed agreement, a completed study and a construction start.