Dangote Plans Refinery Listing to Expand African Participation in Industrial Growth
President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that the proposed listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals on the Nigerian Exchange is aimed at democratising wealth creation and enabling Africans to participate directly in the continent’s industrial transformation.
Dangote made the disclosure during a visit by top officials of South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and Alterra Capital Partners to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals as well as Dangote Fertiliser Limited in Lagos.
The South African delegation was led by Chairperson of GEPF, Frans Baleni, alongside Principal Executive Officer of GEPF, Musa Mabesa; Deputy Chairperson of PIC, Mongwena Maluleke; Chief Executive Officer of PIC, Patrick Dlamini; and Managing Partner of Alterra Capital Partners, Genevieve Sangudi.
The visit comes amid increasing investor interest in Africa-driven industrialisation and long-term infrastructure investments.
GEPF remains Africa’s largest defined benefit pension fund, managing retirement and related benefits for more than 1.8 million South African public sector employees, while PIC is regarded as the continent’s biggest asset manager.
Addressing the delegation, Dangote stated that Africa’s next phase of economic expansion must be driven by large-scale industrial projects capable of generating employment, boosting domestic production capacity and creating widespread prosperity across the continent.
“We are opening the doors for investors to participate directly in Africa’s industrial future and the prosperity it will create,” he said.
According to him, the refinery project reflects the vast untapped opportunities within Africa’s energy sector, particularly as many African nations still rely heavily on imported refined petroleum products despite increasing consumption and rising industrial demand.
Dangote explained that the Group’s long-term investment strategy is anchored on Africa’s growing energy requirements and the urgent need for regional refining capacity capable of serving multiple markets across the continent.
He further disclosed that demand for products such as polypropylene, aviation fuel and refined petroleum products had already surpassed earlier projections, strengthening the refinery’s commercial outlook and informing future expansion plans.
“We thought about Nigeria first and then exports, but even with our current production, we are practically living hand to mouth because the market demand is extremely high,” Dangote added.
Speaking after touring the Ibeju-Lekki facilities, Baleni described the refinery as proof that Africa possesses the capacity to deliver transformative infrastructure projects when supported by visionary leadership, long-term investment and technical expertise.
“If it can be done anywhere else in the world, it can be done in Africa,” Baleni said. “This project has shown that the continent is capable of achieving world-class industrialisation at scale.”
He noted that the significance of the refinery extends far beyond Nigeria, saying the project is reshaping global perceptions of Africa’s industrial capabilities.
“What has been built here is reshaping how the world should think about African industrial capability – and it should reshape how Africa thinks about itself,” he stated.
“For too long, projects of this magnitude have been associated with other parts of the world. The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex is a powerful demonstration that, with visionary leadership and long-term capital, that perception no longer holds. This is the kind of African-led industrial scale that institutional investors on this continent should be backing.”
Also speaking, Dlamini described the refinery as one of the most transformative industrial projects undertaken in Africa, noting that it is redefining global perceptions about the continent’s economic potential and industrial strength.
Quoting former South African President Nelson Mandela, Dlamini said: “It always looks impossible until it’s done. This project is redefining the story of Africa and the possibilities of Africa.”
He explained that PIC, which manages approximately $230 billion in assets largely on behalf of GEPF, is actively pursuing long-term partnerships that align with infrastructure development, industrialisation and economic transformation across Africa.
“PIC’s mandate is to deploy long-term, patient capital in service of industrialisation, infrastructure and economic transformation across Africa,” Dlamini said.
“What we have seen today reinforces our conviction that the next chapter of African prosperity will be written through partnership between African institutional capital and African industrial champions. There is real strategic alignment between Dangote’s industrial agenda and how we are positioning our portfolio, and we look forward to exploring meaningful avenues for collaboration,” he added.
Dlamini further stressed that poverty, unemployment and economic exclusion remain major causes of instability across the continent, making industrialisation and large-scale job creation essential to Africa’s sustainable development agenda.
