NAIROBI, Kenya — The Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group), Alhaji Dr Umaru Kwairanga, has called on East African investors to participate in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery Initial Public Offering (IPO), describing the investment as an opportunity to support Africa-led industrialisation.
Kwairanga made the call on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, during a high-level investor engagement on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO held at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in Kenya.
He said the Dangote Group’s investments in cement, fertiliser and petroleum refining demonstrated how African entrepreneurs could contribute significantly to addressing the continent’s developmental challenges.
According to him, African leaders, including Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kenyan President William Ruto, have consistently advocated greater African cooperation and locally driven solutions to the continent’s economic challenges.
He described Dangote Group President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as one of the entrepreneurs translating that vision into practical economic transformation.
“In Nigeria, we have seen how he has led Nigeria’s turnaround from a cement-importing nation to one that is self-sufficient in cement and even exports the product,” Kwairanga said.
He noted that Dangote’s investments had subsequently expanded into fertiliser and petroleum products, adding that the company’s industrial projects were helping to advance the vision of a more industrialised Africa.
Kwairanga pointed to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos as an example of the potential impact of large-scale African-owned industrial investments, expressing confidence that similar projects planned in Kenya could contribute significantly to economic development across East Africa.
He also highlighted the refinery’s reliance to a significant extent on locally sourced capital, describing this approach as an alternative to dependence on expensive and potentially volatile foreign financing.
The NGX chairman urged investors in East Africa to support African-led businesses with capital, saying such investments could contribute to the continent’s long-term economic development while providing investment opportunities for individuals and institutions.
“I invite our East African investors to key into this vision and give leaders like this the capital and support to take Africa to another higher level of development,” he said.
Kwairanga added that supporting African businesses could benefit both current investors and future generations by strengthening the continent’s capacity to finance and execute large-scale industrial projects.
The investor engagement in Nairobi forms part of efforts surrounding the proposed Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO and its broader drive to attract investors across African capital markets.
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