Aliko Dangote's stake in Nigeria's only Islamic bank is worth $18.2 million

Aliko Dangote owns 3,053,458,570 shares in Jaiz Bank, Nigeria's first and largest non-interest lender, a holding worth about 25.34 billion naira, or $18.2 million at 1,390 naira to the dollar.

The position is held through Dangote Industries Limited and represents 6.85% of the bank. At 8.30 naira a share it implies a market capitalisation of roughly 370 billion naira, about $266 million, for the whole company, a Billionaires.Africa calculation from the disclosed shareholding.

It is a small line in a fortune the Bloomberg Billionaires Index put at $35.3 billion. It is also one of the few places where Africa's wealthiest man has money outside cement, sugar, salt, flour and the Lagos refinery.

Jaiz Bank operates on Islamic finance principles, meaning it neither charges nor pays interest. Instead it takes equity-style positions in the transactions it finances, sharing profit and loss with customers, and structures deposits as investment accounts rather than interest-bearing savings. It began as Jaiz International in 2003, received a regional licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2011 and opened for business in January 2012 with three branches. It now operates nationally.

The bank has been growing quickly. Half-year results published on July 30 showed total assets of 1.63 trillion naira at June 30, up from 1.28 trillion at the end of December, driven by higher cash balances at the central bank and financing assets of 282.19 billion naira.

Gross earnings for the six months reached 57.94 billion naira, against 45.54 billion a year earlier, with 29.6 billion coming from financing contracts and 25.89 billion from investment activities. Profit before tax rose to 15.42 billion naira from 14.75 billion, and earnings per share improved to 33.85 kobo from 32.4 kobo.

Customer current deposits stood at 831.05 billion naira and unrestricted investment accounts, the Islamic banking equivalent of ordinary deposits, at 655.50 billion. Cash generated from operations nearly doubled to 280.69 billion naira from 153.44 billion.

Total equity fell slightly, to 93.59 billion naira from 98.50 billion, after the bank paid out a 4.90 billion naira dividend.

That distribution followed a strong full year. Jaiz reported 2025 revenue of 102.8 billion naira, up from 82.9 billion, with pre-tax profit rising 28% to 31.2 billion and profit after tax reaching 30.2 billion from 23.5 billion. Income from financing contracts grew 31.3% to 42.1 billion naira, and investment income rose to 56.7 billion from 44.4 billion on the back of sukuk and trading assets. The board proposed 11 kobo a share, a 57% increase on the 7 kobo paid for 2024.

The first quarter of 2026 continued the pattern, with pre-tax profit of 8.08 billion naira against 7.04 billion a year earlier and gross earnings of 28.26 billion.

Dangote is not the largest shareholder. Mohammed Indimi, the founder of the oil exploration company Oriental Energy Resources, holds about 29.4%, and the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank holds roughly 5.6%.

Insider ownership is unusually concentrated even by Nigerian standards, and stood around 80% earlier this year after Dantata Investment and Securities sold out.

The share price has been volatile. Jaiz reached 14.05 naira on Feb. 25 before falling back, traded around 9 naira in May, and a capital raise lifted the share count to roughly 44.6 billion, which diluted earnings per share even as profits climbed.

Dangote's involvement predates the bank's listing and reflects a broader pattern in northern Nigerian business, where Islamic finance has drawn capital from industrialists whose main operations lie elsewhere. Neither Dangote Industries nor Jaiz has indicated any change to the holding.