Aliko Dangote sets 2028 IPO for fertilizer arm he says will be the world's biggest

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has set 2028 as the year his fertilizer business goes public, telling Bloomberg Television that by then it will be "the biggest fertilizer company on earth."

"We will IPO it," Dangote said in an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum on Sunday. "Yes, it will be 2028."

The comment lines up a second listing behind the one now underway. Dangote Petroleum Refinery's N2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion) share sale, the largest in African history, opened on Sept. 14 and closes Oct. 13. Dangote said the refinery offer is about more than raising money.

"For decades, Africa's most strategic assets have been owned by a limited group of investors," he said. "Through this IPO, we are creating an opportunity for millions of Africans to become part-owners."

The date is tied to scale. Dangote Fertiliser produces about 3 million tons of granulated urea a year from its $2.5 billion complex at Lekki, already Africa's largest. Devakumar Edwin, the group's oil, gas and fertilizer chief, told editors on Friday the plan is to reach 12 million tons, with four more trains in Nigeria plus plants in Ethiopia and one other African country.

The Ethiopian project is the furthest along. Dangote signed a shareholders' agreement in August 2025 with Ethiopian Investment Holdings for a $2.5 billion urea complex at Gode in the Somali region, with Dangote holding 60%, fed by gas from the Calub and Hilala fields. It is designed for 3 million tons a year.

A listing had been talked about for sooner. When MTN chief executive Ralph Mupita joined the fertilizer board in January, the IPO was described as expected later this year. Dangote has now put it two years out, after the refinery's own expansion to 1.4 million barrels a day and its planned US listing.

Dangote also addressed a question that has followed the group for decades: why it has so few outside shareholders.

"We have actually everything we do by ourselves. We don't have partners," he said. "But that's why we are now looking for all these massive number of people to now become our partners."

"We want to create institutions that will outlive us, businesses that can compete globally, and opportunities that allow Africans to share in the wealth created on the continent," he said.

He also laughed off the memes. Nigerians who bought the minimum 10 refinery shares have been posting mock certificates naming themselves "chief investment officer" and calling for a "board meeting." Dangote said the jokes were welcome. The next round of them, if his timeline holds, will be about urea.