The Dangote Petroleum Refinery's initial public offering was sold as an IPO for ordinary Nigerians. On the day it opened, two of the apps that had invited those Nigerians in struggled to let them through. Users of Bamboo and Cowrywise, two digital investment apps, reported login problems, slow-loading screens and error messages, TechCabal reports. Both companies acknowledged the disruption and said their engineers were working on it.
Why fintechs were in the middle
The refinery offered 4.1 billion shares in its ₦2.15 trillion ($1.6 billion) IPO through banks, mobile money operators and approved fintechs including Bamboo, Cowrywise, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, Paga and PiggyVest. A low entry price and a one-time identity check made it possible for people who had never used a stockbroker to buy shares from a phone.
Demand was real. Bamboo said it opened more than 236,000 new accounts in the days before the IPO, with about 152,000 funded and ready to trade.
Nobody lost their place
Shares were not allocated first come, first served. The offer stayed open until 13 October, and if it is oversubscribed, investors get a share of the allocation based on total demand and a refund for the rest.
