The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has invested in Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s $2.5 billion private share placement, strengthening its long-standing financial partnership with the Nigerian energy giant.
AFC led a group of strategic investors in the equity raise, which represents the refinery’s first major share placement involving new investors outside its existing ownership structure.
The corporation did not disclose the exact amount it invested or the number of shares it acquired. The total $2.5 billion was raised from a wider group of investors.
The investment comes shortly after AFC received full repayment of a $300 million senior loan it previously provided to Dangote Industries to support the development of the refinery and its associated fertiliser plant.
According to AFC, the original financing contributed to the construction of the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos’ Lekki Free Zone.
The latest share placement attracted African and international institutional investors, development finance institutions, sovereign-linked investment vehicles and strategic partners. AFC said investor demand was 3.7 times higher than the initial offer size.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery said the new capital will be used to support expansion, strengthen its capital structure and provide greater financial flexibility.
The refinery, valued at approximately $20 billion, currently has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and produces petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, LPG, naphtha and other petroleum products for domestic and international markets.
Dangote Industries has announced plans to more than double the refinery’s capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.
AFC President and CEO Samaila Zubairu said the corporation’s latest investment reflected its continued confidence in the refinery and its importance to Africa’s industrial development.
AFC has previously supported the project through syndicated financing and working-capital facilities. In 2024, it partnered with Access Bank to provide working capital for crude purchases during the refinery’s commissioning and early production stages.
The latest equity investment comes separately from the refinery’s recent $4 billion refinancing arrangement, under which Afreximbank underwrote $2.5 billion of a five-year syndicated term loan.
AFC has also expanded its financial support for Dangote’s wider industrial operations. In June 2026, it announced a $600 million financing facility for Greenview Fertiliser Corporation as part of a broader programme to expand fertiliser production in Nigeria and Ethiopia.
The latest transaction therefore marks a new phase in AFC’s relationship with Dangote, shifting part of its exposure from traditional lending toward direct equity investment as the refinery enters its next stage of expansion.
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