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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer has opened discussions on expanding cross-border investment among African capital markets, with the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) engaging stakeholders in Egypt and Ethiopia to explore ways of improving investor access and mobilising capital across the continent.
The high level stakeholder engagement held in Cairo and Addis Ababa, focused on strengthening cooperation among African exchanges, financial institutions and other market participants, while addressing regulatory and infrastructure challenges that limit investment flows across national borders. The discussions were hosted by the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in Cairo, and the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX) in Addis Ababa.
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, Temi Popoola, said Africa had substantial pools of institutional capital, particularly from pension funds and insurance companies, but needed stronger market infrastructure and cooperation to connect those resources with investment opportunities across the continent.
“Africa has substantial capital within its own markets, particularly across pension funds and insurance companies. The challenge is how to connect that capital to investment opportunities across the continent.
“The Dangote Refinery offer provides a practical opportunity to address some of the infrastructure barriers to cross-border investment. Beyond a single transaction, it is about creating connections that enable African capital to finance African growth,” Popoola said.
The engagements also highlighted the need to address practical challenges associated with cross-border investment, including regulatory recognition, investor verification, distribution, settlement, custody and access to reliable market information.
Group Chairman of NGX Group, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga said sustained institutional cooperation and investment in market infrastructure would be necessary to make cross-border investment more accessible and efficient.
“Our task is not simply to collaborate around one offer, but to develop lasting partnerships that support cross-border investment and capital formation across Africa. This requires cooperation among exchanges, regulators, financial institutions and businesses, alongside investment in the infrastructure and technology that make participation more accessible,” Kwairanga said.
At the Cairo meeting, Omar Radwan, Executive Chairman of the Egyptian Exchange, highlighted the potential for Egyptian Depositary Receipts (EDRs) to provide a channel through which Egyptian investors could access selected African businesses.
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He expressed the exchange’s readiness to work with Dangote Industries to explore a possible framework for such an arrangement, which could provide Egyptian investors with another route to participate in African investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, President and Chairman of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, reaffirmed the bank’s financing relationship with Dangote Industries and its commitment to supporting African industrial development. He emphasised the importance of mobilising African investment towards enterprises capable of contributing to the continent’s economic transformation. In Addis Ababa, discussions centred on expanding investment opportunities for Ethiopian investors and strengthening the country’s participation in Africa’s capital markets.
Chief Executive Officer of ESX, Yodit Kassa, said the refinery offer presented an opportunity for Ethiopian investors to participate in the growth of a major African industrial enterprise.
“The Dangote Petroleum Refinery offer represents an important opportunity for Ethiopian investors to participate in the growth of one of Africa’s leading industrial enterprises. It also reflects the growing confidence in Ethiopia’s capital market and our readiness to work with leading institutions across the continent,” Kassa said.
Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, described the refinery as an example of the scale of industrial investment needed to strengthen Africa’s productive capacity, reduce dependence on imports and support long-term economic growth.
Dangote also commended NGX Group for bringing African exchanges together around the initiative and acknowledged the participating exchanges for their collaboration.
The Cairo and Addis Ababa engagements followed earlier stops at the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Botswana Stock Exchange, extending the discussions to additional African markets. The NGX Group and its partners emphasised that the initiative provides an opportunity to examine how exchanges, regulators, financial institutions and financial technology platforms can improve cross-border investment arrangements within their respective regulatory frameworks.
NGX noted that the broader objective is to develop channels through which African savings can be directed towards productive enterprises across the continent, rather than remaining confined within individual national markets.
It added that tbt Group remained committed to working with partner exchanges and financial institutions to strengthen market infrastructure, expand investment access and improve cooperation among African capital markets.
