A massive surge in retail investor demand for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering (IPO) caused severe technical outages across leading Nigerian digital investment platforms on Monday.
Popular fintech applications Bamboo and Cowrywise—both licensed distribution channels for the public offer—were overwhelmed within hours of the subscription window opening, leaving thousands of prospective investors unable to log into their accounts or submit buy orders.
Acknowledging the network disruptions on social media platform X, Bamboo confirmed that its systems faced “much higher than expected traffic” driven by the refinery offer. Cowrywise similarly advised users that its engineering team was working to restore normal service following an unprecedented spike in activity.
The technical strain underscores extraordinary public appetite for the ₦2.15tn ($1.3bn) public offer, which seeks to sell 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each.
To encourage widespread retail participation across Nigeria and the wider continent, the offer set a low entry threshold, allowing individuals to purchase a minimum of 10 shares for ₦5,250 ($3.25).
The trading disruption follows formal regulatory clearance from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had previously issued public warnings earlier in the year against premature share promotions before final approvals were granted.
With the IPO now officially cleared across stock exchange portals, commercial banks, and mobile fintech platforms, proceeds from the continent’s largest share sale will fund further capacity expansion at the mega-refinery complex.
Add Comment