Dangote Foundation to Support 2 Million Women With Refinery Shares

Aliko Dangote has announced plans for the Aliko Dangote Foundation to work with state governments to help about 2 million vulnerable women participate in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited’s ongoing Initial Public Offering (IPO). Dangote disclosed the plan in New York during the 81st United Nations General Assembly, while responding to a question about how government-private sector partnerships could help widows and women affected by conflict build sustainable financial futures. According to Dangote, the foundation will partner with state governments to enable widows, conflict victims and other vulnerable women to acquire shares in the refinery. He also said the foundation would provide additional shares to participating women, which they could retain as a long-term savings asset. Dangote said the initiative is targeting approximately 2 million women across Nigeria. The announcement forms part of efforts surrounding the Dangote Refinery's IPO, which has been presented as a way of expanding Nigerian participation in ownership of the major industrial project. Details such as the eligibility criteria, beneficiary selection process, participating states and implementation timeline have not yet been fully disclosed in the reports reviewed. If the programme is implemented at the announced scale, it would potentially introduce a large number of women to equity ownership while providing additional shares intended to serve as long-term financial assets. Source: Punch, GistReel and other reports on Dangote's announcement.