Today is Friday, October 9. So you have just four days left.
Two programs sit under this initiative. One is for students (the Student Share Grant Initiative). The other is for women (the Women’s Share Subscription Grant Initiative). For most people you buy at least 10 shares yourself first, then the Foundation funds an application for more shares in your name. A smaller group of women don’t pay anything at all.
About this Aliko Dangote Foundation Share Grant Initiative
The Dangote Refinery is selling shares to the public for the first time. That sale is called an IPO. One share costs ₦525, and the smallest you can buy is 10 shares, which is ₦5,250.
The Foundation noticed that students and low-income women don’t usually take part in the stock market, so it decided to add shares to whatever these two groups buy. The whole scheme is about ₦40 billion. Around ₦25 billion of that is for students, enough for up to 5 million of them. The women’s side covers up to 2 million.
The Foundation is not the one selling the shares. It only pays for the extra application. Payment, allotment and refunds all follow the IPO prospectus. And the grant works for this refinery IPO only, so you can’t use it to buy shares in other Dangote companies.
Dates to remember for the Aliko Dangote Foundation Share Grant
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| September 14, 2026 | The Dangote Refinery IPO opened |
| October 13, 2026 (Tuesday) | Offer closes. Last day to apply. Late applications are rejected |
| About November 11, 2026 | SEC approval of the allotment is expected |
| About 15 business days after allotment | Shares show in your account and start trading. Likely early December |
The allotment and listing dates are the planned ones in the prospectus, and they can move.
Who is eligible to apply for the Student Share Grant Initiative
- You must be enrolled in a tertiary school in Nigeria at the time you apply. Universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other approved colleges all count, public or private, federal or state.
- At least 18 years old.
- Postgraduate students are out.
- Your name and matric number get checked against an approved student database. The Foundation’s CEO named the JAMB and NELFUND portals as examples of what is used.
- Grades don’t matter. Only enrollment and age count.
How the Student Share Grant works
You apply for at least 10 shares yourself, which is ₦5,250. If your student verification passes, the Foundation funds a second application of 10 shares for you, worth another ₦5,250.
The extra is capped at 10 shares. Buy 100 shares and you still get a match of 10, nothing more.
The CEO said the first 5 million students who buy the minimum are guaranteed a match. She also said the money is already set aside. The Foundation’s written terms are more careful, though. They say meeting the rules does not force the Foundation to fund your extra application, and even if it submits one, the number of shares you finally get depends on the IPO allotment.
So treat the extra 10 shares as likely, not as certain. Don’t spend money you can’t afford to lose because of it.
The Foundation also encourages students to hold the shares for about a year. The announcement doesn’t describe that as a strict rule.
How to apply for the Student Share Grant Initiative
- Open the official student page at ADF Share Grant Initiative
- Fill in your personal and school details, including your matric number.
- Student verification comes next.
- Subscribe for at least 10 shares through that student channel, in multiples of 10. You pay in full when you apply.
- When they ask for KYC checks, finish those too. KYC is a different thing from student verification, so passing one does not mean you pass the other.
For more information, visit the official student page at ipo.alikodangotefoundation.org/students.
Have your matric number ready and type your name the way your school has it.
Who is eligible to apply for the Women’s Share Subscription Grant Initiative
Every applicant must be a Nigerian woman, 18 or older, living in Nigeria. She also has to pass the identity verification and KYC checks, and she must fit one of the groups below.
One more rule matters a lot. You can take only one ADF share grant, counting all the Foundation’s share grant schemes together.
The groups the Foundation named are:
- Women earning ₦100,000 or less in a month who apply on their own.
- Verified participants in ADF programs (CRoWN, ADFIN and Mu Shuka Iri).
- Verified service widows.
- Eligible non-commissioned servicewomen and service spouses. The announcement doesn’t say which grant track they fall under.
The CEO also said they are looking at widows, women living in extreme poverty and women living with disabilities, using lists held by the armed forces and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. A few details for the different groups were still being finalised when she spoke, so check the portal for updates.
The two grant tracks for women
| Matching Grant Track | Unconditional Grant Track | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Independent applicants earning ₦100,000 or less monthly | Verified ADF program participants and verified service widows |
| What you pay | At least 10 shares (₦5,250) | Nothing |
| What the Foundation funds | An application for 10 more shares | An application for 20 shares (₦10,500) |
How to apply for the Women’s Share Subscription Grant Initiative
Independent applicants apply only on the official portal, ipo.alikodangotefoundation.org. No other site.
If you are in an ADF program or you are a verified service widow, your guidance will come through the Foundation’s approved channels. Wait for that. Don’t go looking for an agent.
You don’t need an existing CSCS account. If you need one, it gets opened for you through Vetiva after you pass the KYC step.
The Foundation does not collect or hold anybody’s money. The grant funds go straight to the issuing house, and no cash is paid to you or to anyone else. Any shares you are allotted are credited to you alone, in your name.
How much money you need for the Dangote Foundation share grant
At ₦525 a share, this is what the numbers look like for a student or an independent woman applicant, if the Foundation funds its part and everything is fully allotted:
| Shares you buy | You pay | Shares the Foundation adds | Total shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | ₦5,250 | 10 | 20 |
| 20 | ₦10,500 | 10 | 30 |
| 50 | ₦26,250 | 10 | 60 |
| 100 | ₦52,500 | 10 | 110 |
Look at the last column against the first. At 10 shares the grant doubles what you bought. At 100 shares it is only 10 percent more. The grant is fixed, so the biggest boost is at the minimum.
What happens after you apply
The offer closes on October 13. Then the issuer proposes how shares will be shared out, and the SEC has to approve it.
If more people apply than there are shares, the issuer sets a full-allotment level. Applications at or below that level are expected to be filled in full, while bigger ones may be cut back. Money not used comes back to you within five business days of allotment.
Your shares then get credited and start trading on the Nigerian Exchange.
Things that can stop you from getting the Dangote Foundation share grant
- Your KYC fails, even though your student verification passed.
- You apply after October 13.
- Postgraduate students don’t qualify, and neither does anyone not enrolled in a tertiary school when they apply.
- A woman who is also a student can’t take both grants. One only.
- The Foundation is allowed to decide not to fund your extra application.
- Allotment follows the IPO rules, so you may not get the full number of shares.
Risks to know before you buy Dangote Refinery shares
The extra shares cost you nothing, but the ₦5,250 you put in is real money.
Share prices go up and down, and nobody can promise you a profit. No dividend has been declared yet, and dividends are only paid once the company declares them.
The refinery only started making a profit recently. The prospectus shows a loss of about $1.5 billion in 2024 and about $476 million in 2025. In the first half of 2026 profit was ₦2.5 trillion, and a good part of that came from unusually high refining margins that have since eased. Only about 3.3 percent of the company is being sold. A small float like that can make the price jump around after listing.
The prospectus also has a small holding bonus. Hold at least 10 shares for 12 months after allotment and you may get one free share, then another after a second 12 months. It’s capped at two shares, so at most about ₦1,050 at the offer price, and it still needs approvals. Don’t buy because of it.
Only put in money you can leave alone for a long time. Don’t borrow to do this.
Scam warning for the Dangote Foundation share grant
Do not pay any agent, any person or any personal bank account for a grant or for a promise of guaranteed allotment. The Foundation said it does not work that way.
Never share your password, PIN or OTP with anybody. If you get a link or a payment request you didn’t expect, check it through official channels before you do anything. The official portal is ipo.alikodangotefoundation.org.
