President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that investor appetite for the planned listing of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals on the Nigerian Exchange remains exceptionally strong, with private placement requests already surpassing $2 billion.
Dangote disclosed this during a visit by the leadership of FirstHoldCo to the 650,000 barrels per day refinery and Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Ibeju Lekki.
According to him, the planned Initial Public Offering is aimed not only at raising capital but also at creating wealth opportunities for ordinary Africans through broader participation in the ownership of Africa’s largest refinery.
“There is significant interest in the IPO and private placement,” Dangote said. “Requests for private placement have already exceeded $2 billion. We are not allocating the full amount requested, but the response reflects the confidence investors have in the refinery and in the future of African industrialisation.”
He added that the company wants Africans across the continent to directly benefit from the industrial value being created.
“We want ordinary Africans to participate in the value being created,” he said. “What companies like Amazon and Apple achieved for investors globally is the kind of wealth creation we want to replicate in Africa.”
Dangote also disclosed plans for a proposed East Africa refinery project with a projected capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, alongside polypropylene and base oil production facilities. He said construction could begin within the next three to four years.
According to him, the new refinery project was not included in the Group’s original Vision 2030 growth strategy, indicating that the conglomerate is already on track to outperform its long-term revenue targets.
Dangote noted that the Group has strengthened its leadership position across multiple sectors over the past five years, including cement operations in 11 African countries, while expanding aggressively into refining, petrochemicals, and fertiliser production.
He said the company has increased cement production capacity to 55 million tonnes annually, completed major industrial projects including the refinery and fertiliser plant, and established clinker export terminals to improve regional trade and exports.
“We have built businesses that address Africa’s critical needs and create long-term value for the continent,” Dangote said. “Africa should stop exporting raw materials while importing finished products. That is equivalent to exporting jobs and importing poverty.”
Chairman of FirstHoldCo, Femi Otedola, also expressed interest in acquiring $100 million worth of shares in the refinery’s proposed listing.
Otedola described the refinery as a transformative industrial platform capable of reducing Africa’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
“He is a genius and one of the greatest men to come out of Africa,” Otedola said while praising Dangote. “What he has done is helping to liberate the continent from economic slavery and import dependency.”
Otedola further revealed that he had visited the refinery more than 25 times and sold his stake in Geregu Power to reinvest in the refinery project.
He also expressed confidence in Dangote Group’s planned expansion of refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day, citing growing demand for refined petroleum products across Africa.
Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Group, Olusegun Alebiosu, described the refinery as a symbol of vision, courage, and industrial ambition capable of inspiring similar investments across the continent.
“If you see this refinery and realise that an individual conceived and delivered a project of this magnitude that is already helping to stabilise energy supply across Africa, you cannot help but be inspired,” Alebiosu said.
