Nigerian High Commissioner to Botswana, John Shama Shaga, says the Nigerian industrialist and billionaire, Aliko Dangote, is determined towards industrialisation of Namibia and Botswana.  

Just weeks after selecting Botswana, as the dual host for what is expected to be the continent's largest ever initial public offering (IPO), successful Nigerian businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has started building a fuel-storage gateway into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region from Walvis Bay.

Expected to open for trading by early next month at the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) to raise about $500 million of the targeted $1.6 billion, investors in other SADC countries can subscribe through their local brokers and exchanges.

Nigerian High Commissioner to Botswana, John Shama Shaga, told NBC News in an interview that Dangote Industries Limited is assisting the SADC region to advance its industrialisation agenda.

"Dangote is silently working towards the industrialisation of Africa. What he is doing today, most African business leaders have failed to do. I think he is moving in the right direction. I know that Dangote has been speaking with the President of Namibia. I know of that. I trust the thrust of their conversation; a lot of the agenda items were definitely the issue of energy that you are talking about."

This week, Dangote Industries Limited inaugurated a $2.5 billion pipeline expected to extend from Walvis Bay towards Otjiwarongo with connections towards Rundu, Ghanzi and Francistown in Botswana, while its wider distribution network is intended to serve Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and the southern Democratic Republic of Congo.