Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has approved a Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) structure that will enable eligible Kenyan investors to participate in the ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Nigeria.

The approval followed a Short Form Prospectus submitted by Renaissance Capital (Kenya) Limited, a licensed investment bank, for the GDR arrangement.

The Dangote Refinery IPO opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026, offering 4.1 billion shares at N525 each.

Under the arrangement approved by the CMA, Renaissance Capital Kenya will establish custodial arrangements for funds received from investors and work with Renaissance Capital Africa, which is licensed in Nigeria, to participate in the Nigerian offer.

Following the close of the Nigerian offer and confirmation of the allocation of Dangote Refinery shares, Renaissance Capital Kenya is expected to structure the GDRs for listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The proposed listing remains subject to the necessary approval from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as successful fundraising and allocation of the underlying Dangote Refinery shares.

A GDR is a negotiable certificate issued by a depository institution to represent shares in a company listed in another country. The structure allows investors to gain exposure to a foreign company through their domestic capital market.

The CMA said the arrangement would provide Kenyan investors with access to the Dangote Refinery offer while expanding opportunities for cross-border investment within Africa.

The regulator said the transaction was the first of its kind since Kenya issued its Policy Guidance Note on Global Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Notes.

The development could deepen links between the Nigerian and Kenyan capital markets by providing investors in Kenya with a mechanism to participate in a major Nigerian equity offering without directly purchasing the underlying shares on the Nigerian Exchange.

The CMA, however, clarified that its approval relates to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Nigeria and does not represent an offer of shares in any proposed Dangote refinery project in Kenya.

The Nigerian offer comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each, giving the offer a value of N2.15 trillion.