Dangote Refinery IPO pulls in N1.5tn in six hours as Bamboo, Cowrywise apps crash

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE initial public offering opened on the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos on Monday, September 14, 2026, and drew roughly N1.5 trillion in subscriptions within six hours. The offer is being described as the largest IPO in Africa.

Shares are priced at N525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares. That means retail investors can enter for as little as N5,250. The offer is targeting up to 10 million retail investors, making it one of the most accessible major equity offerings Nigeria has seen.

Bamboo and Cowrywise hit by traffic surge

The demand overwhelmed two popular fintech investment platforms. Bamboo told its users it was seeing "much higher than expected traffic trying to get into the Dangote IPO and it's making it difficult for some users to log into the Bamboo app," adding that its team was working to restore normal access shortly.

Cowrywise issued a similar notice, saying: "We're currently seeing more traffic than usual on the Cowrywise app. Our team is already on it and working to get things back to normal."

The outages drew complaints from investors who could not place their orders. Retail investor Vallisangel Faith said the situation exposed the need for investment companies to prepare adequately for periods of unusually high demand. Ogudu Mikel said he was struggling to log into the Cowrywise app at all.

Fintech specialist May Codegidi compared the experience unfavourably with buying shares through traditional banks, saying some platforms appeared unable to cope with the volume generated by the IPO.

Dangote says dividends will be paid in dollars

Addressing the overwhelming investor interest, Aliko Dangote sought to calm concerns about the impact of naira depreciation on returns. He said the refinery operates as a dollarised business and that shareholders would receive dividends in US dollars, a structure he said would help protect the value of investors' holdings regardless of movements in the naira exchange rate.

Dangote also said investors would have the opportunity to visit the refinery in January 2027.

Heavy oversubscription looms

With subscriptions already hitting about N1.5 trillion within hours of the offer opening, there is a real possibility that the offer will be heavily oversubscribed. Investors may receive only a portion of the shares they applied for when the offer eventually closes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had earlier given the green light for the offering, approving the sale of 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 per share. If investors fully subscribe to the offer, the company could raise about N2.15 trillion.

The scale of demand marks a notable moment for Nigeria's capital market and its push to deepen retail participation in equity investment.

What it means for Nigerian investors

The rush into the refinery reflects strong appetite for dollar-linked returns as the naira remains under pressure. For retail investors, the key risk now is allocation. A subscription that lands N1.5 trillion in six hours against a N2.15 trillion ceiling suggests most applicants will not get the full number of shares they asked for.