Two of Africa’s biggest business players — Dangote Refinery and Airtel Money — are preparing for major public listings, in moves expected to reshape investor participation across the continent’s energy and fintech sectors.
President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, confirmed that the much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Dangote Refinery remains on track for September. Speaking during a tour of the refinery complex in Lagos, he disclosed that investor appetite ahead of the launch has already neared $2 billion, even before the formal offering begins.
“We are trying to make sure that by September, we’ll be out there in the market to sell the IPO,” Dangote said.
He further revealed that interest from potential investors has continued to rise through private placement discussions.
“Right now, when we even say we are going to do private placement, already we have people who have actually requested to buy. And we have an amount of almost $2 billion,” he added.
The refinery, which is reportedly valued at more than $50 billion, plans to release up to 10 per cent of its shares to investors. Analysts say the transaction could rank among the largest capital market deals ever executed in Africa.
Dangote stressed that the offering is designed to encourage broad public participation, particularly among ordinary Nigerians rather than only institutional investors.
“Our target really is to get the larger part of the society to buy. What we are trying to do is actually bringing in people when it is at this low level and for them to have an upside. We want it to be like when you buy Amazon or you buy Apple,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Airtel Africa has postponed the planned public listing of its Airtel Money business to the second half of 2026. The company had initially projected the IPO for the first half of the year, but shifting global market conditions linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict forced a delay.
Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa, Sunil Taldar, explained that the postponement was influenced largely by market uncertainty and not by operational weakness.
“Market conditions following recent geopolitical developments have affected the anticipated timing of the Airtel Money IPO. We have made good progress and remain committed to the listing as market conditions allow,” Taldar said.
Despite the delay, Airtel Africa posted strong financial performance for the year ended March 2026. Profit after tax surged by 147 per cent to $813 million, while revenue climbed 29.5 per cent to $6.4 billion.
Research projections indicate that the Airtel Money IPO could raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, potentially valuing the mobile money arm at up to $10 billion. If achieved, it would become one of the largest fintech listings in recent years.
The company also reported rapid growth in its digital finance operations. Airtel Money now serves 54.1 million customers across 14 African countries, representing a 21.3 per cent increase year-on-year. Annualised transaction volumes on the platform have also crossed $215 billion, underlining the growing role of mobile financial services across Africa.
The planned listings by both companies are expected to attract strong regional and international investor attention, while also signalling growing confidence in Africa’s capital markets and expanding digital economy.