Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR), Nigeria’s largest sugar producer and a flagship subsidiary of the Dangote Group, has named seasoned South African executive Thabo Mabe as its new Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 December 2025.
The appointment follows the resignation of the outgoing CEO, Ravindra Singhvi, who will step down on 30 November 2025 after five years at the helm. Singhvi, an Indian national who joined the board in May 2020, is credited with overseeing significant operational upgrades, digital transformation initiatives, and the steady execution of the company’s Backward Integration Programme (BIP).
In a statement on NGX confirmed that Mabe’s selection is in line with a carefully crafted succession plan designed to ensure continuity and sustained shareholder value.
Thabo Mabe is not new to the Dangote Group, having delivered results across several of its food-related businesses since joining in 2014.
A chemistry and mathematics graduate from the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, Mabe spent the early part of his career at Unilever, rising to Vice President of Supply Chain (Africa, Middle East & Turkey) and later serving as CEO of Unilever Nigeria Plc in 2010–2014, where he significantly grew market share and profitability.
His track record inside Dangote includes:
- Transforming the loss-making Dangote Flour Mills into a highly profitable operation before its successful divestment in 2019
- Leading Dangote Rice Limited as Managing Director
- Serving as Managing Director of NASCON Allied Industries Plc (makers of Dangote Salt) since 2022, where he has driven consistent growth in the food seasoning and allied products segment.
Mabe’s appointment coincides with DSR’s ambitious $700 million investment in its Backward Integration Programme (BIP), aimed at achieving sugar self-sufficiency in Nigeria.
Announced in mid-November 2025, this expansion builds on earlier commitments and focuses on reducing the country’s reliance on imported raw sugar, which currently meets most of Nigeria’s 1.7 million metric tonnes annual demand.
Key investments include:
- Expanding sugarcane plantations from ~8,700 hectares to ~24,200 hectares over the next seven years, primarily in Adamawa and Nasarawa States.
- Upgrading crushing capacity from 3,000 to 15,000 tonnes of cane per day in Numan, Adamawa) and building irrigation systems, factories, and power generation up to 90 MW.
- Training programs, CSR initiatives, and out grower schemes to support local farmers and create jobs.
- Aiming for 700,000 metric tonnes of local raw sugar annually, boosting overall refining capacity to 1.5 million metric tonnes. This aligns with Nigeria’s National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) to conserve foreign exchange and promote industrialization.
When completed, the expanded facilities are expected to produce 700,000 metric tonnes of raw sugar annually, enough to meet roughly 40–50 % of national demand and save hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign exchange yearly.
The project directly supports the objectives of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) and the federal government’s import-substitution agenda.
With Thabo Mabe at the helm, Dangote Sugar Refinery appears poised to accelerate its journey from Africa’s largest refiner to a fully integrated producer–refiner capable of competing globally.
As Thabo Mabe prepares to assume office on 1 December, all eyes will be on how quickly he can translate strategy into sugarcane in the ground and refined sugar on Nigerian tables.
Administrator and Writer
