Africa’s wealthiest man and industrialist, Alh. Aliko Dangote is exploring opportunities to expand access to shares in his $20 billion refinery through African stock exchanges, following an initial public offering (IPO) that attracted investor orders worth approximately ₦6.4 trillion ($4.77 billion), nearly three times its target.
According to Reuters, Dangote Group has held discussions with several African stock exchanges since April 2026 on how investors across the continent could participate in the refinery’s share offering. The discussions were initiated at Dangote’s invitation, according to Edoh Kossi Amenounve, Chief Executive Officer of the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM), the regional stock exchange serving eight West African countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Summit in Luanda, Angola, Mr. Amenounve acknowledged that reaching a common arrangement had proved difficult because participating markets operate under different listing requirements and securities regulations. One option under consideration is the use of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), financial instruments that represent shares in a company but can be traded on exchanges outside its primary listing market. Similar arrangements have been used in markets such as Kenya and Botswana.
The African Exchanges Linkage Project already provides technological infrastructure for cross-border trading, but regulatory barriers remain. Beyond raising capital for expansion, the initiative could provide a significant opportunity to deepen African capital markets, broaden local ownership of major industrial assets and strengthen investment collaboration across the continent.
Dangote’s proposed expansion of investor access comes as the refinery prepares for its anticipated listing on the Nigerian Exchange later in November, subject to regulatory and operational processes. The refinery, currently designed to process approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, plans to double its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day.
It would be recalled that the refinery’s public offer in Nigeria comprised 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at ₦525 each, representing a base offer value of approximately ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion). The offer closed on October 28, with investor orders reportedly reaching ₦6.4 trillion.