Dangote Refinery IPO is here: here’s what you need to know

The Dangote Refinery IPO has kicked off, with millions of Nigerian investors rushing to buy the stock ahead of its eventual listing in October. Consequently, Aliko Dangote’s net worth is expected to cross the $50 billion milestone. 

Dangote Refinery IPO kicks off

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has kicked off the listing process of his giant refinery in Nigeria that seeks to raise $2.1 billion. This makes it the biggest IPO in Africa, and a major milestone for a company that has relied mostly on domestic funding. 

Millions of Nigerians have rushed to buy the stock, with some of the fastest growing brokers, including Bamboo, reporting outages. That’s because the so-called “peoples’ IPO” is highly affordable, with shares starting at 40 US cents, with the minimum investment being $4.

Dangote aims to raise $2.1 billion in this IPO, which will value the company at over $50 billion. According to Bloomberg, his net worth will jump to nearly $60 billion, catapulting him to the top 30 of the richest people in the world. He will become wealthier than people like Ken Griffin, Eric Schmidt, Masayoshi Son, and Abigail Johnson.

The fundraising process comes two months after the company raised $2 billion in a private placement that valued it at $39.1 billion. Femi Otodola, a Nigerian billionaire, invested $100 million at this time. As a result, there are concerns that retail investors are getting the raw end of the deal. 

A key risk that Nigerian investors face is that stocks often retreat immediately after their IPO. A good example of this is MTN Nigeria, whose stock initially rose to 108.6 naira shortly after the IPO and then crashed to 63 naira shortlyb after that. Since then, it has rebounded to 811 naira today. 

Most recently, SpaceX stock initially rose to $225 after its IPO and then crashed to a low of $105 after the listing. It remains substantially below its all-time high today. Similarly, Circle stock rose to $300 after the IPO and then dropped to the current $97. 

Dangote plans Kenyan refinery

The IPO comes at an interesting time for the company. It has already hit its 700k barrels a day output, making it the biggest refinery in Africa. This means that it has made Nigeria a net exporter of refined petroleum, which has helped to boost the Nigerian naira. Data shows that the USD/NGN dropped to 1,317, its lowest level since April 2024. It has slumped by over 24% from its highest point in 2025. 

Dangote Refinery plans to boost its investments in the coming months. It is about to start constructing a refinery project in Lamu, with the complex expected to be completed in the next three years. In addition to this, the company plans to build a 2,650 kilometer pipeline that runs from Namibia through Botswana to South Africa. In total, Dangote expects the refinery business to hit $100 billion in revenue in the next decade.

On top of this, Dangote has said that he plans to take other parts of his business empire public in the coming years.