NGX Group, partners boost cross-border investment through Dangote refinery offer

Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) and its partners are strengthening cross-border investment collaboration among African capital markets through engagements in Egypt and Ethiopia linked to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE offer.

According to information supplied by NGX Group, the engagements took place in Cairo and Addis Ababa on Thursday, October 15, 2026.

The discussions focused on how market infrastructure and institutional partnerships could improve investment access across the continent and mobilise African capital for industrial development.

NGX Deepens Cross-Border Investment

The engagements were hosted in Cairo by the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and in Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX).

They brought together exchange leaders, financial institutions and other capital market stakeholders to explore practical approaches to improving market connectivity, broadening investor participation and mobilising African capital for productive investment.

Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NGX Group, highlighted longstanding structural barriers that limit investment flows across African markets.

He noted that the continent has substantial pools of institutional capital, but stronger market infrastructure and cooperation are needed to connect these resources with investment opportunities across national borders.

• Popoola said: “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.”

Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, described the refinery as an example of the scale of industrial investment required to strengthen Africa’s productive capacity, reduce dependence on imports and support long-term economic growth. He also commended NGX Group for bringing African exchanges together around the initiative and acknowledged the participating exchanges for their collaboration.

NGX Group Chairman Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga stressed the need for sustained institutional cooperation and market infrastructure that makes 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.

African Exchanges Explore Investment Channels

At the Cairo engagement, Omar Radwan, Executive Chairman of EGX, highlighted the potential for instruments such as Egyptian Depositary Receipts (EDRs) to provide a channel through which Egyptian investors could access selected African businesses. He expressed EGX’s readiness to work with Dangote Industries to explore a possible framework for such an arrangement.

Dr. George Elombi, President and Chairman of Afreximbank, reaffirmed the bank’s longstanding financing relationship with Dangote Industries and its commitment to supporting African industrial development. He highlighted the importance of mobilising African investment towards enterprises capable of contributing to the continent’s economic transformation.

In Addis Ababa, discussions focused on expanding investment opportunities for Ethiopian investors and strengthening Ethiopia’s participation in Africa’s evolving capital market landscape.

Yodit Kassa, Chief Executive Officer of ESX, welcomed the engagement, noting its significance for Ethiopian investors and the country’s growing capital market.

• “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.

The discussions also highlighted practical requirements for cross-border participation, including regulatory recognition, distribution, investor verification, settlement, custody and access to reliable information.

The offer provides an opportunity for exchanges, regulators, intermediaries and financial technology platforms to address these considerations and explore workable solutions within their respective regulatory frameworks.

NGX Group said it remained committed to working with partner exchanges and financial institutions to strengthen market infrastructure, expand cross-border investment access and advance collaboration among African capital markets.

What you should know

Earlier in October 2026, NGX Group and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) advanced efforts to deepen cross-border collaboration, as Nigerian and Kenyan market stakeholders met in Nairobi to explore ways to strengthen connections between their markets and across Africa.

• Speaking at a high-level investor engagement hosted by NSE for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO, Aliko Dangote commended Kwairanga and Popoola for their role in advancing collaboration among African capital-market institutions.
• Dangote said stronger cooperation among African exchanges could create opportunities for companies to access capital across multiple African markets rather than limiting their capital-market presence to their home countries.
• He cited the planned Dangote refinery in Mokowe-Lamu as an example of the opportunities that could emerge from stronger integration, suggesting that companies operating across the continent should be able to consider listings in more than one African market.

The latest engagements in Cairo and Addis Ababa extend the initiative to additional markets, with discussions focused on practical ways to connect investors with businesses and channel African savings into productive enterprises across the continent.