The Aliko Dangote Foundation has announced plans to provide 777,907 vulnerable women across 15 Nigerian states with shares in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals under its Women Share Subscription Grant Initiative. The programme aims to promote financial inclusion by giving women access to equity ownership in one of Africa’s largest industrial investments.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the foundation’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Zouera Youssofou, said the initiative forms part of its broader target of empowering two million vulnerable women across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The participating states are Abia, Anambra, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Yobe and Zamfara.
Under the arrangement, each eligible beneficiary is expected to receive 20 shares at an indicative price of ₦525 per share, giving each allocation a stated value of ₦10,500.
State governments will finance 10 shares per beneficiary, while the foundation will provide a matching contribution for the remaining 10 shares. The shares are to be provided to beneficiaries at no cost to them.
According to the foundation, the programme is designed to extend the benefits of the initial public offering beyond institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals, particularly to vulnerable women who may be participating in the capital market for the first time.
Rather than relying solely on conventional financial assistance, the initiative seeks to provide women with ownership of productive assets and an opportunity to participate in long-term wealth creation.
The foundation said 15 state governments had committed to participating in the programme. Gombe State has emerged as the first participating state to make full payment towards the initiative, marking a milestone in its implementation.
The programme is being implemented alongside the foundation’s Tertiary Students Share Subscription Grant Initiative, which supports eligible students seeking to participate in the refinery’s initial public offering.
Under the students’ programme, the foundation supports applications for 10 shares on behalf of each eligible participating student at no cost to them. The initiative comes as Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals pursues its ongoing initial public offering, which offers shares at ₦525 per unit.
The foundation’s stated ambition to reach two million women across all 774 local government areas highlights its plans to broaden participation in Nigeria’s capital market.
