Dangote Refinery proves Africa can build at scale, says Sanwo-Olu

International leaders have backed the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, saying wider ownership of the industrial giant could usher in a new phase of African wealth creation, industrialisation and economic sovereignty.

The leaders, who spoke at the 2026 ADF Africa Diaspora Leadership Programme Young Global Leaders Convening in Lagos yesterday, said the refinery had demonstrated Africa’s capacity to execute industrial projects at global scale, while its proposed IPO could enable 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.

At the event, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described the development as a reflection of Lagos’ culture of building despite challenging conditions

President and Chief Executive of 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,” Dangote said during a fireside chat. “We are doing the IPO to pass this prosperity to Africans.”

Dangote added that his ambition extended beyond accumulating wealth to building enterprises capable of creating jobs, opportunities and prosperity across the continent.

“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 said.

The man recognised as Africa’s richest man expressed confidence that the refinery could eventually become Africa’s largest company by size and profitability.

“Our job is to de-risk Africa, encourage more investors, create jobs and create more opportunities. That is how we will transform Africa,” he said.

Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and Co-Chair of The Africa Centre, Ambassador Jendayi Frazer, said the proposed IPO could connect African industrial production with African and Diasporan capital, broadening participation in the value created by strategic assets on the continent.

“The refinery connects us all through the proposed IPO that creates broader ownership. It can broaden participation in the value created by African industry. It can connect investment with African production to scale with African institutions, pension funds, savers, individual investors, including the African Diaspora coming into this, owning a stake in Africa’s growth.” Frazer said.

She asserted that the refinery had already changed the equation for Africa, with implications extending beyond petroleum production to the continent’s geopolitical standing.

“Economic power is not only what a country possesses, but also what it can create, process, finance, transport and sell. Supply chains, energy systems and capital markets shape sovereignty,” she said.

She added that the project demonstrated what was possible when African ambition was matched by capital, technical knowledge, partnerships and disciplined execution.

Sanwo-Olu also called for a new model of African industrial ownership in which ordinary citizens, institutional investors and Diaspora capital hold stakes in the continent’s strategic assets.

“The next frontier of African scale is not another giant; it is a thousand ordinary owners: the teacher in Enugu, the nurse in New Jersey and the pension fund in Nairobi, each holding a piece of the strategic assets of their own continent,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The governor described the refinery as evidence of Africa’s capacity to execute projects once considered beyond its reach, noting the additional infrastructure developed around the project.

“Dangote did not build a refinery; he built a country around a refinery, and then he built the refinery. There was no port that could receive the equipment, so he built a jetty. There was not enough power, so he built a power plant,” he said.

He noted that the project survived construction challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic and severe currency depreciation, despite predictions that it would not become operational.

He, however, challenged governments to build the infrastructure and institutions required to ensure future African investors do not have to overcome similar obstacles.

“The true measure of this refinery is not that it stands. It is whether the next one is easier,” he said.

Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations, Dangote Industries Limited, Fatima Aliko Dangote, said Africa must move beyond merely possessing natural resources and talent to building the productive capacity and institutions required to retain the value they create.

“This is more than a Dangote story; it is a story about what Africa must build, what Africa must own, and what this generation of leaders must help make possible,” she said.

Afreximbank, which provided significant financial backing for the refinery, described the project as its African industrialisation mission “made concrete”.

President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, who was represented by the Director, Creatives and Diaspora, Intra African Trade and Export Development Bank, Temwa Gondwe, said the bank underwrote $2.5 billion of the $4 billion syndicated loan supporting the refinery and subsequently provided a $1 billion working capital facility.

“Unless we produce, we cannot trade. Unless we capture value, we cannot prosper,” Gondwe said, describing the refinery as proof that Africa could move from exporting raw materials towards processing resources and capturing more value on the continent.