Nigeria
Dangote targets 2028 fertiliser IPO
Dangote Group plans to list its fertiliser business in 2028, as it advances an expansion targeting 12mn t/y of urea capacity, alongside new phosphate and potash projects and 2.2mn t/y of DAP capacity.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum: UNGA Special Edition in New York on 20 September, Aliko Dangote said the fertiliser business would pursue an IPO in 2028 and become, in his words, the “biggest fertiliser company on earth.” Dangote said the group is raising urea capacity from around 3mn t/y to 12mn t/y, while developing potash and phosphate mining operations and 2.2mn t/y of DAP capacity.
The expanded fertiliser platform could eventually supply more than 40% of Africa's fertiliser demand, according to Dangote, who linked the strategy partly to the continent's vulnerability to imported fertiliser exposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The expansion is already underpinned by major projects in Nigeria and Ethiopia. Dangote's programme is expected to lift Nigerian urea capacity from 3mn t/y to 9mn t/y, while adding a 3mn t/y plant in Ethiopia, according to AFRIQOM Africa Fertiliser Capacity Pipeline service.
Deep Dive
Nigeria expansion takes centre stage
The largest element of the programme remains Dangote's Lekki fertiliser complex with a target total nominal annual urea capacity of 9mn tonnes. Separately, technology supplier Thyssenkrupp Uhde said in November 2025 that it had been contracted for four additional granulation trains at Lekki, each rated at 4,235 t/day, lifting granular urea capacity to more than 8mn t/y. The expansion, currently underway, would significantly increase Dangote's weight in the global urea market. QAFCO currently reports 5.6mn t/y of urea capacity in Qatar and describes itself as the world's largest single-site urea producer.
Dangote Group Vice President Devakumar Edwin also said recently that the wider fertiliser programme includes four additional Nigerian trains, projects in Ethiopia and another African country, which has yet to be identified publicly.
Ethiopia becomes second production hub
Dangote's Gode project in Ethiopia's Somali region forms the second major pillar of the expansion.
Dangote and Ethiopian Investment Holdings agreed in August 2025 to develop a 3mn t/y urea complex, with Dangote holding 60% and EIH 40%.
Originally estimated at up to US$2.5bn, the planned investment has since increased to more than US$4bn as the scope expanded.
The revised programme includes a 110km gas pipeline, 120MW power plant, polypropylene packaging facility and 2mn t/y NPK blending plant, substantially broadening the project beyond the initial urea complex. Beyond nitrogen, Dangote said the group is developing potash and phosphate mining operations and targeting 2.2mn t/y of DAP capacity.
The group has previously pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo for potash and phosphate investments, although locations and commissioning schedules for the mining and DAP projects referenced in Dangote's latest comments have not been detailed.
Financing moves alongside capacity
The scale-up is being accompanied by a significant increase in Dangote's use of external financing markets. Dangote Fertiliser raised US$750mn through a private placement in April. Greenview Fertiliser, Dangote's fertiliser holding company, subsequently secured a further US$600mn financing facility from Africa Finance Corporation to support a wider US$7bn expansion programme covering Nigeria and Ethiopia.
The proposed 2028 IPO would therefore extend a financing strategy already moving beyond balance-sheet funding towards institutional debt and public equity markets.
Refinery IPO provides the template
That strategy is already visible elsewhere in the Dangote Group. Dangote Petroleum Refinery opened its Nigerian IPO on 14 September, offering 4.1bn shares at NGN525/share, around US$0.40/share, targeting approximately NGN2.15tn, or US$1.6bn, in gross proceeds.
The refinery is targeting an increase in processing capacity from 700,000 b/d to 1.4mn b/d by Q1 2029. Dangote also plans a secondary New York listing for the refinery after the capacity expansion is delivered.
The fertiliser IPO therefore fits into a broader shift in the Dangote model, using institutional debt and public capital markets to finance another major cycle of industrial expansion. For fertilisers, however, the implications extend well beyond financing. Delivery of 12mn t/y of urea capacity, alongside DAP, NPK, potash and phosphate projects, would materially increase Africa's position in global fertiliser production and reduce the continent's long-standing dependence on imported nutrients.
AFRIQOM Market Reporter
