The much-anticipated public offer of shares in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE triggered an unprecedented rush by retail investors on Monday, overwhelming two major Nigerian investment platforms and leaving some users unable to access their accounts.
Bamboo and Cowrywise, two of the digital platforms approved to facilitate subscriptions to the Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offering, acknowledged experiencing unusually heavy traffic as investors scrambled to buy into the landmark offer.
Bamboo said the volume of investors attempting to access its platform was significantly higher than expected.
“Hey everyone, we’re getting a much higher than expected traffic trying to get into the Dangote IPO and it’s making it difficult for some users to log into the Bamboo app,” the investment platform said in a post on X.
It added that its technical team was working to resolve the problem.
Cowrywise also confirmed that its platform was experiencing heavier-than-usual traffic, saying its team was working to restore normal access.
The disruption came as the refinery’s IPO formally opened on Monday, attracting intense interest from Nigerians seeking to acquire shares in one of Africa’s largest industrial projects.
The offer involves 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 each, with the company seeking to raise about N2.15tn. The minimum subscription is 10 shares, costing N5,250, making the offer accessible to a broad pool of retail investors. The offer closes on October 13.
The scale of the rush was also reflected in international coverage of the launch.
Reuters reported on Monday that the public offer had generated high interest among Nigerian retail investors, while the Associated Press said the heavy demand overwhelmed some digital investment platforms.
The development highlights both the popularity of the offer and the pressure placed on Nigeria’s increasingly digital investment infrastructure when a mass-market investment opportunity attracts a huge number of users simultaneously.
The Dangote Refinery IPO has been promoted as a “people’s IPO”, with the low minimum investment designed to encourage ordinary Nigerians to become shareholders in the refinery.
Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote said on Monday that the objective of the listing was to democratise wealth creation rather than simply raise money.
The refinery is offering about 3.3 per cent of its equity to public investors, according to Reuters, while Dangote retains a controlling stake. The company is valued close to $50 billion, making the transaction one of the largest equity offerings ever undertaken in Africa.
The company plans to use the proceeds to support expansion, including increasing the refinery’s capacity from its current 700,000 barrels per day towards 1.4 million barrels per day.
The refinery has also become a major player in Nigeria’s petroleum market since commencing operations, helping to shift the country from dependence on imported refined petroleum products towards exports. Reuters reported that the company posted a $1.82bn profit in the first half of 2026.
However, Monday’s technical difficulties have introduced another dimension to the retail-investor frenzy.
With the offer deliberately structured to reach investors through mobile applications and electronic channels, the inability of some users to log in risks frustrating investors during the early stages of the offer.
The incident also raises questions about the preparedness and capacity of digital investment platforms to handle sudden spikes in transaction volumes, particularly when a high-profile public offer is being marketed aggressively to millions of potential investors.
There were, however, other digital channels available to investors. UBA and Fidelity Bank, for instance, said its customers and non-customers could subscribe through its mobile applications, corporate banking platform, branches and dedicated virtual-account arrangements.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also issued a fresh warning on Monday against unauthorised and fraudulent platforms purporting to offer access to the Dangote Refinery shares.
The SEC urged investors to use only approved channels, amid the intense public interest in the offer.
The Dangote Refinery itself has similarly warned investors to subscribe only through SEC-approved receiving agents and electronic application channels and not to transfer money to unofficial intermediaries.
