By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor
The proposed initial public offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has drawn strong backing from prominent African and international leaders, who say opening the industrial giant to wider ownership could mark a new phase in African wealth creation, industrialisation and economic sovereignty.
The leaders, speaking at the 2026 ADF Africa Diaspora Leadership Programme Young Global Leaders Convening in Lagos, yesterday, said the refinery had already demonstrated Africa’s capacity to build at global scale, while its proposed IPO could allow ordinary Africans, pension funds, institutional investors and the diaspora to participate directly in the wealth created by one of the continent’s biggest industrial investments. President and Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said the philosophy behind the IPO was to extend the prosperity created by the refinery beyond its promoters and give ordinary Africans an opportunity to become owners.
“I want drivers, cooks, the woman selling food on the streets of Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa to invest so they can share in this prosperity. We are doing the IPO to pass this prosperity to Africans,” Dangote said during a fireside chat. “I am wealthy, not rich. A wealthy man creates wealth, while a rich man makes money and keeps it for himself. “What keeps me going is that we must industrialise Africa. There is no amount of hurdle that will stop us. If you put a brick wall in front of me, I will make a hole and pass through.” He expressed confidence that the refinery could eventually become Africa’s largest company by size and profitability, drawing parallels with global corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla and Alibaba, which grew substantially after entering the public markets.
