The offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, embraced as "The People’s IPO", reaches Southern Africa through Botswana Depository Receipts (BDRs) issued by Access Bank Botswana Limited as Unsponsored Depository, a first-to-market structure for the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE). The window to join the refinery's first generation of public shareholders will close today at midnight. Botswana, like many of its neighbours, imports virtually all of the refined fuel that powers its homes, mines, farms and transport. The BDR programme changes that relationship, giving Batswana the chance to move from consumers of that fuel to part-owners of the refinery that produces it.
The structure removes the barriers that have historically kept African savers out of Africa's largest industrial assets. Investors apply through any BSE member broker in Botswana, or through their local licensed broker in participating SADC markets, with no Nigerian account needed. Each BDR is backed one-for-one by a Dangote Refinery share at ₦525.00, the same offer price available to investors in Nigeria. In Botswana, this means P5.85 per BDR and a minimum of 100 receipts. The underlying shares are held in Nigeria by Access Bank Plc as custodian, in a segregated account that is reconciled daily and ring-fenced from the Bank's own balance sheet.
