President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has announced that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery will be structured to prioritize retail investors in its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO). He also disclosed that the facility will represent approximately 10 percent of the refining capacity of the United States.
IPO Structure and Retail Focus
Dangote made the remarks during a visit by the board and management of First HoldCo to the refinery on Wednesday. He outlined the scale of the project and the planned approach to its market listing. The IPO is designed to widen access and allow ordinary investors to participate in the refinery's value creation.
“Yeah, the IPO is mainly retail and I think most of the people that are low will get most of what they demanded because our target really is to get the larger part of the society to buy,” he said.
Global Scale and Revenue Projections
Dangote emphasized that the refinery is not only Africa's largest industrial project but also a global-scale asset with refining capacity comparable to major markets. “People don’t know, we’re going to have 10 per cent of the refining capacity of the entire America. 10 per cent of the entire America’s production in terms of refining and it’s going to be the largest refinery ever on the earth of this world. So, it’s not a small business. It is a very big business,” he said.
He added that the project is expected to generate the highest corporate turnover on the continent based on current projections. “And I can also assure you, it will have, based on today’s numbers, our revenue from the refinery business will be larger than any, will have the largest, highest turnover in Africa.”
Wealth Creation and Inclusive Participation
Dangote said the decision to open up ownership is aimed at wealth creation and inclusive participation, drawing comparisons with global tech giants. “Because what we are trying to do is actually bringing in people, when it is at this low level, and for them to have an upside. So, we want it to be like when you buy Amazon or you buy Apple, all those, everybody has become a millionaire, that is what we want to bring into Africa.”
“We’ll create all these companies, we’ll create value, then we invite other people to come and share this value with us.” He further said the group’s long-term revenue ambition remains aggressive, noting that the $100 billion target by 2030 is only a baseline expectation.
First HoldCo's Vision
Meanwhile, Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, said the institution is targeting a major transformation within the next five years, aiming to become one of the largest banking groups in Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa. “The First Holdco Institution has decided, the board and the members have decided that First Holdco has to be one of the biggest, largest banks in Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa within the next five years,” he said.
Otedola said the visit to the refinery was part of efforts to learn from Dangote’s industrial vision and execution.
Inspiration for Africa
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank Group, Olusegun Alebiosu, said the refinery stands as a powerful symbol of vision and industrial ambition that should inspire similar development across Africa. He added that exposure to such projects should encourage African business leaders across different countries to replicate similar investments in their own economies.
“And even those people from those countries will also see and be able to speak to their own people in their own country, to also put forward something inspiring like this. So if you look across, people from different countries, I’m sure they will go back to their countries and also speak to big businessmen in their own countries to also do something similar. So it’s just about building Africa and building the continent together.”
