Thabo Mabe has been appointed as the new chief executive officer to lead the largest sugar refinery in Sub-Saharan Africa, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, at a time the company is making a renewed expansion push worth more than $700 million, a move that’s expected to boost the firm’s earnings and cut raw sugar imports in Africa’s most populous nation.
After the resignation of Ravindra Singhvi, the company’s now former group managing director and CEO, effective Nov. 30, 2025, marking the end of a five-year tenure in which he oversaw major investment projects, steady revenue growth, and the company’s digital transformation, the board named Mabe, a senior executive within the Dangote Group and former CEO of Unilever Nigeria Plc, as Singhvi’s successor.
Mabe will assume office on Dec. 1, 2025, subject to shareholder ratification at the company’s next general meeting.
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Singhvi, appointed in May 2020, strengthened the company’s management structure and enhanced its brand reputation during a period of heightened competition and rising operational costs in Nigeria’s fast-moving consumer goods sector, the company said in a disclosure to the Nigerian Exchange.
Who is Thabo Mabe?
Mabe holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and Mathematics from Fort Hare University, South Africa. He joined Unilever as a graduate trainee and served in various capacities with practical experience in Manufacturing, Production, Sales, and other spheres of work.
In 1999, he was appointed Works Director Personal Wash Factory in Mannheim, Germany, which is the global factory that supplies Dove soap to Unilever operations around the world.
Mabe returned to South Africa in 2002 and was appointed Manufacturing Director and then VP Supply Chain for Unilever HPC in 2004. When Unilever, HPC, and food divisions were consolidated into one in 2007, Thabo was appointed Vice President Marketing for Spreads, Cooking, and Ice Cream, and later Vice President, Homecare.
From Unilever to Dangote Group
Mabe, a South African national with a career spanning Unilever, Dangote Flour Mills, Dangote Rice, and NASCON Allied Industries, is credited with turning around multiple consumer-goods businesses within the conglomerate. Dangote Sugar said his appointment aligns with its succession plan and commitment to leadership continuity.
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Mabe “brings a wealth of international experience spanning South Africa, Germany, and Nigeria” and has made “significant contributions to the Dangote Group’s food businesses,” the company said.
Mabe needs to return Dangote Sugar to profitability
Part of Mabe’s task would be to turbocharge Dangote Sugar’s growth and end its piling losses that have persisted for the past three years, using the nine-month unaudited financials of the company.
While the sugar refiner cuts net losses by more than 94 percent to N10.59 billion between January to September 2025, the new CEO would have to leverage the expansion push, coupled with the now stable macros, to power growth and return to profitability moving forward.