Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita to fertilizer unit board with IPO plans

The Dangote Industries, owned by Africa’s richest man, appointed MTN Group Ltd. CEO Ralph Mupita to the board of its fertilizer business as it prepares to expand and list the operation in Nigeria.

The high-profile hire to Aliko Dangote’s stable comes as Dangote Fertiliser plans an initial public offering on the Nigerian Stock Exchange this year. 

Mupita spearheaded the listing of

MTN’s unit in the West African nation in 2019, a business whose revenue has more than quadrupled since. With a market value of $8.6 billion, it’s the bourse’s biggest company after BUA Foods Ltd.

Dangote Fertiliser produces about 3 million tons of granulated urea annually and plans to be the largest maker globally by 2028, said Dangote previously. To do this, it needs to expand its $2.5 billion complex in Lagos, and will start building a facility in Ethiopia this year.

Mupita has headed Africa’s largest wireless carrier for more than five years after joining the group in 2017 as chief financial officer. Before that, he held senior positions at South African financial services group Old Mutual Ltd. and initially trained as an engineer.