We Want Students and Poor Women to Own Dangote Refinery Shares — Foundation Explains N40bn IPO Plan

By Taibat ummi Yakubu 

The Aliko Dangote Foundation has revealed details of its N40 billion share-support initiative aimed at helping millions of Nigerian students and vulnerable women become shareholders in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals through its ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The Foundation said the programme was designed to give groups that have traditionally been excluded from the capital market an opportunity to own shares in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou, said the initiative was inspired by Aliko Dangote’s vision of making the refinery’s IPO accessible to ordinary Nigerians.

According to her, students and economically disadvantaged women were identified as two major groups that rarely participate in investment opportunities despite representing a significant portion of the population.

“Remember when Aliko announced the IPO, he described it as the IPO of the people and he wanted to have as many people as possible participate,” she said.

“We realised that the student population and women in general, especially vulnerable women we work with through our micro-grant programmes, were not normally active in the capital markets. So, we asked ourselves what we could do to encourage their participation.”

Youssoufou explained that under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries who purchase the minimum number of shares required would receive an equal number of shares from the Foundation at no additional cost.

Under the arrangement, participants who buy the minimum allocation of 10 shares worth N5,250 would receive another 10 shares as a matching grant, bringing their total holdings to 20 shares.

“What if you said, okay, we’ll buy 10, which is the minimum, and then we’ll match you the 10 and you have to hold it? We encourage you to hold it for a year, and then you can do whatever you want after. So, you get 20 shares, you apply for 10, and then we match the 10,” she explained.

The Foundation disclosed that it has earmarked about N25 billion to support the student component of the programme, which is expected to benefit up to five million students across Nigeria.

According to Youssoufou, the first five million eligible students who purchase the minimum share allocation will automatically qualify for the matching shares.

“The first five million students who buy those N5,250 shares, we guarantee a match from the Foundation. Aliko has already set aside the funds for this,” she said.

She clarified that qualification would not depend on academic performance, grade point average or course of study.

Instead, applicants must be enrolled in a recognised Nigerian tertiary institution and be at least 18 years old.

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“The only criteria is that you're enrolled in a tertiary institution in Nigeria that we can verify through existing platforms such as JAMB and NELFUND. We are also doing this in partnership with the Ministry of Education,” she said.

The initiative covers students in universities, polytechnics and other recognised tertiary institutions nationwide.

Beyond students, the Foundation also plans to support up to two million vulnerable women through the programme.

Youssoufou said the category includes widows, women living in extreme poverty, persons with disabilities and others facing severe economic hardship.

“These are women who have had a really difficult time and would ordinarily never have access to opportunities like this. They are among the people we want to support,” she said.

She disclosed that the Foundation was working with the Ministry of Women Affairs, security agencies and other institutions to identify and verify eligible beneficiaries through existing social registers.

According to her, the broader objective of the initiative is not profit-making but expanding ownership and participation in the capital market.

“Those are the people who, in Aliko’s mind, represent the true meaning of democratising access to the capital market. They would never have been able to participate otherwise, and now they have a chance to become shareholders,” she said.

Youssoufou added that the Foundation would only match the minimum 10 shares, regardless of how many additional shares a participant chooses to purchase.

“If a student buys 100 shares, we will still only match the first 10. That’s why we do not have a revenue target. This is about inclusion, not profit,” she explained.

She assured that details of the programme, including the number of beneficiaries, would be made public after implementation.

According to her, the Foundation intends to provide regular updates on participation levels, including how many students and vulnerable women eventually become shareholders through the initiative.

“At the end of the day, these shares will belong to people who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to own them,” she said.

The Foundation noted that some aspects of the programme are still being fine-tuned, particularly those relating to the identification and verification of vulnerable women, but maintained that its core objective remains expanding economic opportunities for underserved Nigerians.

With the Dangote Refinery IPO attracting nationwide attention, the N40 billion support scheme is expected to become one of the largest shareholder inclusion initiatives ever undertaken by a private charitable foundation in Nigeria.