NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 29 – Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote says the planned Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery will democratise wealth creation by giving ordinary investors an opportunity to own a stake in the growth of large African businesses.
Dangote said the planned listing is part of a wider strategy to spread ownership of his businesses among the public, allowing investors to earn dividends and benefit from potential increases in the value of their shares.
Speaking during a high-level investor engagement at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Dangote said his group ultimately intends for all its companies to be publicly owned.
He said the model would allow more people to participate in wealth generated by large corporations, pointing to major US-listed companies where founders hold relatively small stakes while millions of investors own shares.
Dangote said the strategy was not only about distributing dividends but also enabling investors to build wealth through the appreciation of their shareholdings.
“It’s not only about the dividend. It’s actually about the valuation of their shares,” he said.
Dangote said the group plans to invest more than $25 billion (Sh3.2 trillion) across its businesses while pursuing an additional $50 billion (Sh6.4 trillion) investment programme.
He said the objective was to build a legacy by creating businesses capable of generating and retaining wealth within Africa.
“I think, number one, of course, to make money, but number one is actually to make a legacy where we create and integrate wealth to Africa,” he said.
The IPO comes as Dangote expands his refining footprint across the continent, with the planned 700,000-barrel-per-day Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu set for groundbreaking on Wednesday.
The planned IPO would combine wider public ownership with Dangote Group’s broader expansion across Africa’s industrial and energy sectors.
