Dangote Refinery listing: Nigerians to buy shares on fintech apps and mobile phones

Dangote Refinery is preparing to make a remarkable initial public offering (IPO) by listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) sometime this year.

According to the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, the refinery, which commenced operation in 2024, is expected to list at a target valuation of about $50 billion (about N70 trillion). The refinery could also sell up to a 10% stake through the listing.

Multiple reports predict that the valuation could exceed $50 billion. This is because the projected valuation aligns with the company’s current internal expectations, as stated by a senior company executive in a recent report by Bloomberg.

Aliko Dangote, billionaire and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, gestures as he speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. World leaders, influential executives, bankers and policy makers attend the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos from Jan. 17 – 20. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg

The proposed listing on NGX will also see shares of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals floated on multiple African stock exchanges. While the company will list in Nigeria, it also targets other African countries, such as Kenya.

As such, the listing is being positioned as the first pan-African initial public offering of its scale, making investor interest really high.

However, the development has gotten more interesting for Nigerians. Dangote Refinery is in talks with fintech platforms to deploy Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals and mobile technology to drive more participation and make it accessible for Nigerians.

Also Read: Hackers reportedly hack Dangote and Otedola’s phones, demand ransom.

How Nigerians can tap into the listing

The availability of Dangote Refinery shares across fintech platforms, POS terminals and other mobile technology means that Nigerians can obtain the shares through a POS agent, instead of relying only on traditional stockbrokers.

Also, investment apps and digital finance companies, such as Bamboo and Risevest, might allow users to buy refinery shares directly from their phones, the way they buy shares of other companies.

However, there’s a clause. Only Nigerians with a Bank Verification Number (BVN) are qualified to buy the shares. But this shouldn’t be much of an issue since BVN and NIN have become a vital requisite in performing digital transactions across financial institutions.

While it’s yet uncertain how interested individuals will participate in the offer, the listing is expected to target millions of retail investors across Nigeria and those abroad.

To ensure the deployment, reports noted that Dangote Refinery has engaged with top fintech companies with a major footprint across the country. This includes the provision of digital infrastructure that will allow investors to seamlessly purchase shares.

The move to involve everyday digital technologies players, such as banks, fintechs, and POS agents, ensures the democratisation of the process of financial inclusion and broadens retail investor participation.

Broader African listing

Dangote Refinery’s plan to list on multiple African Securities Exchanges Association forms a model for the company’s expansion on the continent.

For instance, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Frank Mwiti, who attended a recent meeting between African stock exchanges and the company, disclosed that discussions centred on structuring a cross-border listing framework that would allow investors across the continent to participate in the refinery’s ownership.

Dangote Refinery is currently the largest single-train facility in the world with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. Within the next three years, Dangote plans to more than double this to 1.4 million barrels per day, a scale that would rival global refining giants such as facilities owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

As part of the move to fund its expansion, the company recently secured backing from the African Export-Import Bank, and the group decided to take responsibility for $2.5 billion out of the total $4 billion.