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| Aliko Dangote has confirmed that his group’s fertiliser business is expected to go public in 2028. |
By: Admin
Africa’s richest man and founder of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has confirmed plans to list the group’s fertiliser business on the stock market in 2028.
Dangote disclosed this during an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Sunday while discussing the ownership structure of his businesses and efforts to bring more investors into the group.
According to the billionaire, Dangote Group has traditionally operated without external partners but is now seeking to broaden its ownership base.
“No, we have actually everything we do by ourselves. We don’t have partners. But that’s why we are now looking for all these massive number of people to now become our partners,” Dangote said.
He also acknowledged the viral social media trend involving Nigerians who recently acquired shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery through its ongoing initial public offering.
Dangote joked about the reaction of the new retail investors, saying some had been calling for a board meeting.
“You must have seen that they’ve been calling me now for a board meeting,” he said.
The remark comes amid a wave of memes and humorous posts from Nigerians following the refinery’s share offer, which has been promoted as a “people’s IPO”.
Some retail investors who purchased the minimum 10 shares have taken to social media to jokingly portray themselves as co-owners and executives of the refinery.
Others have shared mock certificates bearing their photographs and titles such as “chief investment officer” and “co-founder and partner”, while some have posted videos joking about monitoring the refinery’s operations or holding meetings with Dangote.
The board meeting joke has become one of the recurring themes surrounding the refinery’s share offer.
Fertiliser business to be listed in 2028
Beyond the refinery, Dangote confirmed that the group’s fertiliser business would also be taken public.
Asked whether the fertiliser company would have an IPO, he responded: “Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, we will IPO it. It’s going to be the biggest fertilizer company on earth.”
When asked about the timeline, Dangote confirmed: “Yes, it will be 2028.”
Dangote Fertiliser operates a $2.5 billion fertiliser plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, with an annual production capacity of about three million tonnes of urea.
The group has also announced plans to significantly increase its fertiliser production capacity by 2028, including the expansion of its Nigerian operations and a proposed plant in Ethiopia.
Dangote has previously said the planned expansion would position the fertiliser business among the world’s largest urea producers.
The 2028 timeline therefore represents the latest public indication from Dangote on when investors could potentially gain access to shares in the fertiliser business.
The announcement comes as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s IPO continues to generate interest among Nigerian retail investors, expanding public participation in the ownership of the refinery.