Aliko Dangote has told prospective investors that a ₦100,000 investment in Dangote Petroleum Refinery could potentially grow to ₦1 million within one or two years, as the refinery begins its landmark public share offering.
Dangote made the projection in an interview with ARISE News anchor Ojy Okpe ahead of the opening of the refinery’s initial public offering (IPO) on September 14.
The company is offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each, putting the potential value of the offer at about ₦2.15 trillion. The public offer is scheduled to close on October 13.
Dangote said investors should not approach the offering as a short-term trading opportunity. Instead, he wants shareholders to retain their stakes and benefit from the refinery’s expected growth and future dividend payments.
“If you invest like something like maybe ₦100,000, within one year, two years or so, you’re talking about you becoming a millionaire,” Dangote said.
His argument rests largely on the refinery becoming a much larger and more valuable business as production and operations expand.
Dangote sees potential for refinery shares to rise sharply
The billionaire also suggested that the refinery’s share price could eventually trade far above the ₦525 IPO price.
Asked whether the stock could reach ₦10,000, Dangote said it could potentially go even higher, depending on the company’s performance.
“I pray so, yes,” he said, adding that the shares could reach ₦15,000 or ₦20,000, while also pointing to examples of stocks that had risen dramatically after listing.
Dangote separately said he expected the refinery’s shares could reach ₦5,000 to ₦10,000.
Those projections are expectations rather than guaranteed returns. The eventual market value of the shares will depend on the refinery’s financial performance, profitability, dividends, investor demand and broader conditions in Nigeria’s capital market.
Why Dangote wants investors to hold
The refinery’s IPO is being positioned as a mass-market investment opportunity rather than an offering aimed only at institutional investors.
The minimum subscription is 10 shares, costing ₦5,250, allowing relatively small investors to participate.
Dangote said his long-term ambition is to build a shareholder base of as many as 10 million people, particularly retail investors.
“This is not a share for somebody to just buy and go and sell it off tomorrow,” he said.
“This is a future for anybody’s family. You’re actually investing in the future of your family.”
That strategy would give the refinery a broad retail investor base while potentially creating a large pool of Nigerians with a direct financial interest in the performance of one of the country’s biggest industrial assets.
Dollar-linked earnings could appeal to investors
Dangote also highlighted the refinery’s exposure to dollar-linked revenues as an advantage for shareholders worried about the naira’s long-term purchasing power.
He said investors could receive dividends in dollars, potentially providing some protection against further currency depreciation.
“At a point when you have your kids studying abroad, even if there’s devaluation of the currency of the naira, you are safe,” Dangote said.
The attraction for Nigerian investors is significant because the value of local savings and investments can be eroded when the naira weakens against major currencies.
However, dollar-linked revenue does not eliminate investment risk. Dividend payments depend on the company’s profitability, board decisions and other corporate and regulatory considerations.
A ₦2.15 trillion test for Nigeria’s capital market
The Dangote refinery offering is one of the most significant attempts in years to bring a major Nigerian industrial asset directly to the public market.
At ₦525 per share, the 4.1 billion shares on offer could raise approximately ₦2.15 trillion if fully subscribed.
The minimum ₦5,250 entry point is designed to make the transaction accessible beyond wealthy investors, while Dangote’s target of millions of shareholders could significantly broaden retail participation in the Nigerian stock market.
For investors, however, the central question is not simply whether the share price can rise from ₦525 to ₦10,000.
It is whether the refinery can consistently generate the earnings, cash flow and dividends needed to justify a much higher valuation.
The refinery, with a stated capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is already one of Nigeria’s most important industrial assets. Its ability to maintain high utilisation, secure crude supplies, sell refined products competitively and convert its scale into sustained profits will be central to the investment case.
For Dangote, the IPO is therefore about more than raising capital. It is also an attempt to turn one of Africa’s largest privately controlled industrial projects into a widely held Nigerian company.
