Bamboo and Cowrywise Face Issues as Dangote Refinery IPO Launches

Two Nigerian investment platforms, Bamboo and Cowrywise, had service disruptions on Monday. This happened because many users tried to subscribe to Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE’s initial public offering (IPO).

Both platforms confirmed the issues in separate posts on X on Monday.

Dangote Refinery started its IPO on Monday. The share sale includes 4.1 billion ordinary shares priced at N525 per share until 13 October. The refinery aims to raise N2.15 trillion.

Aliko Dangote, the Group Chairman, said last week that the company wants to add 10 million retail investors from various backgrounds. This includes cooks, drivers, traders, and managers. The goal is to make the shareholder base more inclusive. He spoke to investment bankers and the public during the signing of the offer documents in Lagos.

Bamboo reported that the high traffic was causing problems for some users trying to access its app. Many investors wanted to join in on the Dangote Refinery share offer.

“Hey everyone, we’re getting 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. We’re working on a fix and it will be up and running shortly,” Bamboo said.

Cowrywise also noticed a high volume of traffic on its platform. They assured their customers that they were working hard to sort out the issues as soon as possible.

“We’re currently seeing more traffic than usual on the Cowrywise app. Our team is already on it and working to get things back to normal. Thanks for your patience, everyone,” the platform stated.

These disruptions happened on the first day of the Dangote Refinery’s $1.6 billion IPO. This offering aims to raise about N2.15 trillion by selling 4.1 billion shares at N525 each.

The minimum subscription for the IPO is 10 units, which equals N5,250. There is also a greenshoe option. This allows underwriters to sell an extra 30 percent of the shares if the offer is oversubscribed.

The refinery currently processes 700,000 barrels of oil per day. It hopes to double this capacity by 2030, using the money from the IPO to fund the expansion.